Conwoman duped brothers out of their £76,000 inheritance by selling them fake Rolexes before lying that she had terminal cancer

A conwoman who swindled two brothers out of £76,000 by selling them fake Rolex watches and then lied about having terminal cancer has avoided jail.

Stacey Hedges, 40, told friend Simon Stacey she could get him Rolexes at a discounted rate through her family connections in the jewellery industry. 

Ms Hedges, a hairdresser, persuaded him and brother Jonathan to part with their late mother's inheritance money for eight counterfeit Rolexes.

She tried to keep up the con by creating fake Rolex warranty cards and a bogus email address pretending to be from a high-end jewellers.

Hedges blew the money on nice holidays and expensive domestic purchases.

When Simon Stacey challenged Hedges about the 'substandard' Rolexes with numerous faults, she said she would get them repaired.

She sent him numerous emails from the fake jewellers to reassure him repairs were progressing.

After several months, Mr Stacey ran out of patience and contacted Charles Fox Jewellers in Bournemouth, Dorset, whose identity Hedges had appropriated.

They said they had never seen the Rolexes or heard of Hedges.

When confronted by Mr Stacey, in a desperate attempt to garner sympathy, Hedges said she had terminal cancer.

Around the same time, she set up a JustGiving page to raise funds for private treatment to prolong her life.

A total of 28 people donated, including legitimate cancer sufferers touched by her story, raising £1,390.

She was so committed to the lie that she even told her teenage daughter she was about to die.

Hedges was reported to the police who arrested her in August 2023 and she was charged with fraud.

She sobbed as she was sentenced after admitting three counts of fraud at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday. 

The judge said that Hedges, motivated by greed, betrayed the trust of the brothers and caused psychological damage to her own daughter.

But she decided against issuing an immediate custodial sentence as she is the sole carer for her daughter. 

The court heard that Hedges sold the Stacey brothers the fake Rolexes in July 2022.

Andrew Coley, prosecuting, said: 'The defendant provided Simon Stacey with four Rolexes and three to his brother Jonathan, while one never arrived.

'They were provided with official Rolex warranty cards.

'But it quickly became apparent that they were not of the standard expected for Rolex watches.'

Mr Coley said she continued to maintain that they were genuine and obtained an email address which she purported to be from Charles Fox Jewellers to send emails from them assuring him the issues were being dealt with by Rolex.

'In February 2023 Mr Stacey contacted the jewellers himself and discovered no one of the name Fox worked there and came to understand he was a victim of fraud,' Mr Coley told the court. 

'To try and avoid criminal proceedings the defendant told him she had terminal cancer and had set up a JustGiving page to pay for private treatment.

'The fraud was a sophisticated offence given not only the provision of watches but also certificates and the ongoing attempts to continue to avoid detection.'

In a victim impact statement read out in court, Simon Stacey, a cancer survivor himself, said he and his brother felt 'betrayed' by Hedges.

He said: 'This case involves for me more than the sale of counterfeit watches to my brother and I.

'Our late mother's inheritance has been stolen by someone we considered a family friend and trusted.

'It is a profound betrayal and when I consider my own battle with cancer, for her to make up her health issues is unbelievable to this day.

'I'm deeply hurt and disillusioned.'

Francesca Da Costa, in mitigation for Hedges, said she was of previous good character and 'regretted' her behaviour.

She said she had been in an abusive marriage with her estranged husband and was the sole carer for her 15-year-old daughter.

She claimed both Hedges and her daughter would have their mental health affected if she was put behind bars.

She said: 'She has committed serious offences in an isolated period and she regrets and acknowledges her behaviour.

'The impact of an immediate custodial sentence would be catastrophic on her and her daughter.'

Hedges, of Brook Road, Wimborne, received a two-year and 11 month prison sentence, suspended for three years, and 250 hours unpaid work.

Her Honour Judge Kerry Maylin, addressing Hedges, said: 'Simon Stacey and Jonathan Stacey were vulnerable having lost their mother and they tried to make an investment to secure their family's future.

'It was a sophisticated operation where you set up an email address, provided fake warranty cards and managed to persuade the Stacey brothers the watches they thought were substandard would be repaired.

'When it became clear to you that your fraud was unravelling you made a further fraud and told anyone who would listen you were dying from a terminal disease.

'You even told this to your own daughter who relies upon you for love, support and care.

'It will be unconscionable in my judgement to suggest this case doesn't pass the custody threshold.

'A person has worked all their life to leave an amount of money to their children and for that to be taken away by another person's greed is a crime that any right thinking person would think merits a custodial sentence.

'But I must balance that with your personal circumstances.'

Proceeds Of Crime Act proceedings are due to begin against Hedges before the end of the year.