Woman fooled her family that she was a Hollywood actress rubbing shoulders with Beyonce and Leonardo DiCaprio with champagne on tap’ to con them out of £35,000

A woman has admitted to teaming up with her mother to fool her family into thinking she was a Hollywood actress to con them out of £35,000. 

Heather Dunlop, 39, claimed to her loved ones that she had signed million pound contracts, was rubbing shoulders with celebrity A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyonce and had ‘Champagne on tap’ in her home. 

She and mother Ann Dunlop, 68, convinced her brother David Bunton, 51, to hand Heather cash to help her make the breakthrough in acting.

A court heard Heather also claimed she was being managed by US entertainment executive Irving Azoff, who represents world famous acts U2 and Harry Styles.

Heather’s aunt Jean and her uncle Steve were also fooled by the string of lies.

Steve also believed Heather and Ann had ‘champagne on tap’ at the plush London home they shared.

Ann (left) and Heather Dunlop (right) who scammed their family out of £35,000

Leonardo DiCaprio attends the 3rd Annual Academy Museum Gala at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles

Beyonce performs onstage during the ‘Renaissance World Tour’ at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City

He stated that the family were ‘like the Waltons’ but ended up ‘like the Dingles.’

Steve stated Heather’s acting career was a ‘best kept secret’ and compared it to the nuclear codes at Faslane.

Steve and Jean went on to pay Heather and Ann’s gas as well as council tax bills due to their money problems.

Ann, formerly of Greenock and Port Glasgow but now of Beauly in the Highlands, was found guilty at a trial in August to defrauding her family a total of £35,368 at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

She was ordered to be of good behaviour for 12 months and told to pay all of the cash back.

Ann was in the public gallery as Heather, now of Kent, pleaded guilty to a similar charge and was due to be sentenced today.

Sheriff Vincent Lunny told Heather, who was representing herself at court, that custody is an option.

He said: ‘One thing that might desist me in sending you to jail is serious efforts to pay this money back.’

Heather replied: ‘I have put away what I can to pay my aunt [Jean] completely now.

Ann Dunlop at Glasgow Sheriff Court on trial for obtaining money from her brother David Bunton

David Bunton, 51, who handed Heather cash to help her make a breakthrough in acting

‘I can pay part of what’s owed to my Uncle David.

‘I have not made contact with them.’

The sheriff stated that he is restricted in his powers to impose up to £10,000 in a compensation order.

Heather said: ‘I can pay them £12,000, I have two senior roles…by January next year I could pay them completely back.’

The sheriff continued the case for four weeks for a background report to be carried out as well for an agreed narrative of Heather’s circumstances to be heard.

Source: Read Full Article