Woman’s ‘web of lies’ exposed after catfishing lonely men on Facebook

A woman who sought out lonely men on Facebook dating sites and conned them out of thousands of pounds has been jailed.

Leonnie Robson, 35, lied to her victims to get money, even claiming she had cancer and that her daughter had committed suicide.

Norwich Crown Court heard she targeted nine men online over 16 months, conning them out of a total of £8,176, with one of them giving her £3,000.

On one occasion, Robson started requesting money just 14 minutes after making contact with the victim. Another was conned into emptying his entire account.

Robson has 33 previous convictions for 87 offenses, including 31 earlier frauds, and carried out the offenses while she was on license, having served a second prison term for fraud.

Simon Gladwell, prosecuting, said Robson duped the men into paying the money into accounts linked with her, then blocked them when they started to ask questions.

She lied, claiming she was fleeing domestic violence, was undergoing chemotherapy, needed to buy birthday items for her children and that she had herself been a victim of fraud and needed cash for food, fuel and utilities bills.

Robson, a mother of six whose own children have been taken into care, even told one of the victims her daughter had taken her own life.

She contacted the men on a Facebook dating site before moving conversations to WhatsApp, where she would start asking for money.

She would start by asking for £10 or £20 before returning for more.

Mr Gladwell said that after being loaned money by the victims, Robson would then make excuses as to why she could not repay them and then block them.

None of the money was ever repaid. She was caught after the carer of one of her victims reported concerns that the man was sending money to someone he had met online.

Robson, formerly of Victoria Road, Great Yarmouth, but now of Dickens Road in the town, appeared at court on March 13, 2026, for sentencing.

The defendant admitted five frauds and asked for two others – similar offenses committed last summer – to be taken into consideration.

Judge Alice Robinson said Robson had been ‘spinning them lies about your personal life in order to gain their sympathy and trust to persuade them to part with money’.

She said she was sure her offending had a serious, detrimental impact on the victims, one of whom she pursued ‘mercilessly for everything he had’.

Imposing a two-year, nine-week jail sentence, the judge said, ‘it’s quite clear this is extremely serious offending’ with the crimes taking ‘significant planning’.

The judge added: ‘If you believe that you have been targeted by a romance fraudster, or you believe somebody close to you has been targeted, then please contact Action Fraud so you can begin to get the necessary support and prevent other people from becoming victims.

‘We’d always advise to never send money, share bank details, or invest in crypto based on advice from someone you have only met online, regardless of how convincing their story is.’

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