THE mystery surrounding the whereabouts of an alleged con woman whose story was featured in a scam documentary came to an end when she was brought before Singapore’s State Courts to face fraud charges on April 5.
British national Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, was arrested on March 28, just days after crime documentary "Con Mum" debuted on streaming platform Netflix.
The documentary is about her alleged fraudulent schemes, including how she reconnected with her estranged son, only to leave him burdened with debt.
According to the Singapore police, after the documentary was aired on March 25, several individuals in the country recognised the woman and later reported being defrauded by her.
It was reported that Hanna appeared before the court via video link from a hospital bed, dressed in a striped shirt and accompanied by an investigating officer. She was unrepresented.
She is facing five charges of fraud by false representation involving three victims and could face up to 20 years in prison, a fine or both, if convicted.
The victims claimed that Hanna used similar tactics to those shown in the documentary. She allegedly pretended to have cancer and said she wanted to give away her fortune which was later found to be fake.
In some cases, she claimed to have links to the Brunei royal family and promised large donations to mosques and community groups.
The victims were reportedly persuaded to transfer money for legal fees and the opening of overseas bank accounts, with Hanna allegedly promising reimbursement through her supposed inheritance.
It was reported that she allegedly committed two of the offences in France, where she posed as a terminally ill member of the Brunei royal family and deceived a man named Paiman Supangat.
She was accused of convincing him to cover her legal fees to open a bank account, with false promises of repayment and inheritance between March 3 and 5.
Hanna is also accused of borrowing money from the man for personal expenses under the pretense of repayment, with no intention of returning it.
She allegedly told a similar story of her terminal illness and inheritance giveaway to deceive Supangat's son, Mohamed Syafiq Paiman in Singapore between Feb 17 and March 10.
Hanna was also accused of defrauding one Mohamed Ariffin Mohamed Kawaja Kamaludin by claiming that she was terminally ill and intended to donate S$3 million (US$2.2 million) to the Khalid Mosque and S$2 million to the Mawar Community Services, an organisation supporting ex-offenders.
The offence was allegedly committed at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, Singapore between Feb 13 and Feb 14.
According to charge sheets, the total losses from Hanna’s alleged scams exceeded S$200,000. Details of the victims’ exact losses were not specified.
She was remanded for a week after her release from the Tan Tock Seng Hospital. Her case is scheduled for mention on April 11.
Con Mum tells the story of London pastry chef Graham Hornigold, whose life was turned upside down when Hanna who claimed to be his long-lost mother, appeared in 2020.
Portraying herself as a wealthy member of Brunei royalty, Hanna allegedly conned Hornigold and others out of hundreds of thousands of pounds.