A fraudster dubbed the 'Queen of the Con' has been found guilty of swindling four people out of more than £115,000 in Northern Ireland. Marianne 'Mair' Smyth was convicted by a jury at Downpatrick Crown Court on Thursday, following a four-day trial that detailed her crimes as a mortgage adviser between 2008 and 2010.
Prosecutors established that Smyth stole from clients, including one who considered her a friend. One victim testified that he gave her £72,570 to buy a buy-to-let property intended to fund his children's university education, but the purchase never took place. Three others, including a couple, gave her £43,000 for high-interest bank accounts that never existed. Smyth then fled Northern Ireland for Los Angeles as UK authorities moved to arrest her.
The case came to light after US podcaster and author Johnathan Walton, who was scammed by Smyth in California, documented his experience in the podcast Queen of the Con: The Irish Heiress and the book Anatomy of a Con Artist. Walton had given Smyth nearly $100,000 after she posed as an Irish heiress awaiting a $30m inheritance. His reporting led to a tip about her whereabouts in Maine, resulting in her arrest in February 2024 and extradition to the UK.
Walton, who travelled to Belfast for the verdict, said he was moved by the reaction of Smyth's victims and the authorities who pursued her. 'It is a surreal experience. I feel like justice has been served,' he said. The jury deliberated for approximately 20 minutes before returning the guilty verdict.
Smyth is due to be sentenced on 16 October. Her defence attorney Gary McHugh said she may not face additional time in custody because of time already served, and that the UK government has filed papers indicating she would be deported on release.
