A woman has been sentenced in court after staging her own kidnapping in a failed attempt to con her ex-boyfriend out of £2,000 ($2,600), the Blackpool Gazette reports.
In October 2020, Leah Jumeaux sent photos of herself bound and gagged. Posing as a kidnapper, she then demanded a ransom of £2,000 in exchange for her own safe return.
However, after being sentenced, the 20-year-old has now been ordered to hand over money to her ex as compensation for her actions.
Jumeaux, from South Shore, Blackpool, appeared at Preston Crown Court on Friday (28 January), charged with blackmail and fraud by false representation.
After pleading guilty to the lesser charge of fraud, she was sentenced to 34 weeks in a young offenders’ institution, and was also ordered to pay a £156 victim surcharge.
At an earlier hearing, prosecutor Chelsea Thomas told Blackpool Magistrates' Court how Jumeaux had sent pictures of herself bound and gagged alongside a photo of a gun.
Last year, a man in the States was arrested after faking his own kidnapping to ‘get out of work’, according to law officials.
Coolidge Police, in Arizona, found Brandon Soules with his hands bound and a bandana stuffed in his mouth on 10 February 2021.
The 19-year-old told officers he had been kidnapped by two masked men who had knocked him unconscious.
Following an investigation, officers found evidence that his story was fabricated.
Soules was arrested a week later for false reporting, and admitted he had made up the story as an excuse to get out of work.
In a statement, Coolidge Police said: "Coolidge Police officers responded that evening at 5.25pm to the area of 1st Street and Northern Avenue in Coolidge in reference to a male subject whose hands were bound behind his back with a belt and had a bandana stuffed in his mouth.
"Initially, the subject reported to officers that two masked men kidnapped him, hit his head (knocking him unconscious) and drove him around in a vehicle before they left him in the area he was found.
"An extensive investigation was conducted by Coolidge detectives and evidence was discovered showing his story was fabricated and no kidnapping or assault occurred.
"Brandon Soules, 19 years of age, was arrested on February 17, 2021 for False Reporting and admitted during an interview that he made up the story as an excuse to get out of work."
Featured Image Credit: Police handout
Jess Hardiman