Lancashire 'Black Widow' fraudster claimed 'anxiety' forced her to flee country to avoid jail
Amela Gwinnett, known as the 'Black Widow', has been jailed after fleeing the UK to avoid arrest on fraud charges involving a £300,000 scam.
Fraudster amela Gwinnett had befriended Chorley widow Mrs Green and eventually became her carer.
She opened a bank account in their joint names and siphoned off tens of thousands of pounds.
She isolated the widow from her family and "plundered" Mrs Green's estate for more than £300,000.
Mrs Green died in 2022. By then Gwinnett had gained power of attorney over her affairs.
Counsel for Gwinnett today said she fled the country because was "scared and terrified" of being arrested.
She had been suffering from anxiety and mental health issues.
Gwinnett pleaded guilty before a judge on Friday to the bail offence after being arrested at Manchester Airport.
The court heard that Gwinnett had applied for her bail terms to be altered last year so she could travel to Tenerife to scatter the ashes of a non-existent brother.
She was asked to surrender her passports, but fled to Tenerife having kept one back. She lived in Los Cristianos, where she was known by some in the El Mirador area as the Black Widow.
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Judge Maher told the 63-year-old today that her supposed anxiety did not stop her from fleeing the country and mounting her defence from abroad.
She had been a fugitive for 16 months and had treated the justice process with "utter contempt".
The Judge said her behaviour and her attempts to attack the character of Mrs Green's family during the trial had been "cowardly".
He sentenced her to two months consecutive to the original six year sentence for the bail offence.
Judge Maher praised police, the CPS and all other authorities for their efforts in bringing Gwinnett back to the UK.
He also thanked the press for keeping the story in the public eye.
Outside court, Mrs Green's grandson David Bolton said he was sad that his grandmother did not live to see Gwinnett behind bars.
He said: "I wish the judge had given her longer (behind bars) but at least it is over now.
"She has never admitted anything or apologised once and has made no effort to pay the money back."Efforts are ongoing to confiscate her property and bank accounts under the Proceeds of Crime Act.”