SINGAPORE: A British woman from the hit Netflix crime documentary “Con Mum”, about her allegedly scamming her renowned pastry chef son, was charged with fraud in a Singapore court on Saturday, according to documents seen by AFP.
Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, was charged with five counts of fraud involving three people, the documents show.
In the documentary film released on March 25, Hanna upends pastry chef Graham Hornigold's life when she emails him and claims she is his biological mother.
She allegedly scams Hornigold as they reconnect, conning him of hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to the film.
A DNA test at the end of the documentary shows Hanna is indeed his biological mother.
She appeared in court Saturday via videolink and was seen lying in a bed at Singapore's Tan Tock Seng Hospital, local broadcaster Channel News Asia reported.
It was not immediately clear why she was in hospital.
According to court documents, one of the charges involved her allegedly telling a man in Singapore, identified as Paiman Bin Supangat, this year that she was from the Brunei royal family.
She had told him she had terminal cancer and that she wanted to pass her wealth to him and his son.
The Singapore police in a statement Friday said they had received several reports from alleged victims after the documentary was released on Netflix.
Police said preliminary investigations showed Hanna was believed to be involved in at least five cases of cheating with losses amounting to more than $200,000.
“As part of the arrangement to receive monies for the investment and inheritance, the victims were asked to transfer money for legal fees and opening of overseas bank accounts,“ police said.
“The victims believed that her investment and release of inheritance to be genuine and made several transfers to her.”
If found guilty of fraud, Hanna could face fines and be imprisoned for up to 20 years.
Her next court hearing is on April 11.
