Woman who conned her household in faux Hollywood actress rip-off faces jail
- Heather Dunlop, 40, conned her family out of £35,000 in a fake actress scam
- She and her mother, Ann Dunlop, 69, convinced her brother to give them money
- But a judge has warned she now faces jail after failing to repay the cash to him
A woman who fooled her family into thinking she was a Hollywood actress to con them out of £35,000 faces prison after she failed to repay the money.
Heather Dunlop, 40, 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, 69, convinced her brother David Bunton, 52, to give money to Heather 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.
Ann (left) and Heather Dunlop (right) scammed their family out of £35,000 in a fake actress scam – with Heather now having been warned she faces jail for not repaying the money
Ann Dunlop was convicted last August of defrauding her family a total of £35,368 at Glasgow Sheriff Court
David Bunton, 51, who handed Heather cash to help her make a breakthrough in acting
Steve believed Heather and Ann had ‘champagne on tap’ at the plush London home they shared.
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 was convicted last August of defrauding her family a total of £35,368 at Glasgow Sheriff Court while Heather, of Kent, pleaded guilty to a similar charge.
Both were ordered by Sheriff Vincent Lunny to pay the money back to the Buntons before Tuesday’s sentencing.
The sheriff asked Heather directly how much she has paid back and she replied: ‘None.’
Heather went on to claim that she currently has £14,200 in her bank account, which she will give to the Buntons.
The pair were warned at Glasgow Sheriff Court that the amount they defrauded would be considered a ‘jailable offence’
Heather Dunlop, 40, claimed to her loved ones that she was rubbing shoulders with celebrity A-listers Leonardo DiCaprio and Beyonce
The sheriff put it to Heather that she told a social worker in a recent background report that she would be able to pay £31,500 to the Buntons.
However, Heather claimed that the money – apparently from other family members – was ‘no longer available’ to her.
The sheriff warned: ‘Taking £35,000 passes the custodial threshold as this is a jailable offence.
‘Unless I see some of this money being repaid and it is not pure fantasy, I will just jail you.’
The sheriff also stated to Ann that he may look at an alternative sentence for her after a fresh background report is completed.
The matter will be heard again next month for the £14,200 to be paid to the Buntons.
Sheriff Lunny said: ‘Once the figure reaches £20,000 I can impose a compensation order and matters can be dealt with in the court.
‘The maximum I can impose is £10,000 on each of you.
‘If this is not paid, I can revoke the order and do what I need to do.’
