A Derby mother who faked terminal cancer to con her boyfriend into funding a boob job has been ordered to repay £30,714. Laura McPherson, 35, falsely claimed to have cervical, ovarian, colon, bowel and breast cancer, even leading her young daughter to believe she was dying.
McPherson sent her partner, Jon Leonard, fake selfies of herself receiving treatment at various hospitals and claimed she needed funds for a private clinic in Austria. She also said she had undergone a hysterectomy and was receiving chemotherapy. In reality, she used the money for breast enhancement, holistic treatments, and weight loss trips abroad.
Leonard, who has raised nearly £40 million for cancer charities through his business, was conned out of £25,000 and had also gifted McPherson a £30,000 Rolex after she claimed to have beaten one form of cancer. At Derby Crown Court on 6 October, McPherson was ordered to repay the sum by January 5, likely through the sale of a watch.
McPherson was spared jail earlier this year but handed a two-year community order. Judge Jonathan Straw described her as a 'wicked and devious liar' whose 'sophisticated offence' had a 'serious and detrimental effect' on Leonard. Prosecutor Siward James-Moore detailed how the deception ran from March 2017 to January 2022, including fake messages about treatment.
Following the hearing, Leonard said: 'It's finally over. She never had cancer and has been making up having cancer since secondary school. She has been exposed for the horrible, lying, manipulative individual she is.'
