"The tv producer turned vigilante after he was scammed by con artist Marianne Smyth, the so-called 'Queen of Con'. Over several years he had handed his supposed best friend Smyth, who claimed to be an Irish heiress, over $100,000. But Walton was not her first victim. His lengthy investigations revealed she had scammed scores of people since childhood. She used a range of strategies, lies and aliases - posing as Jennifer Anniston, becoming a satanic priestess, claiming to be on the IRA's army council, pretending to have cancer."
"Smyth was sentenced in September to 4 years in jail at Downpatrick Crown Court as it was revealed that she had scammed over £100,000 from people in Northern Ireland. Johnathan Walton has written a book on his experience with the fraudster. It's called ' Anatomy of a Con Artist: The 14 Red Flags to Spot Scammers, Grifters, and Thieves' and is host of the hit podcast 'Queen of the Con'. Today's episode comes from our sister podcast the BelTel. Ciarán Dunbar is joined by Johnathan Walton."
Johnathan Walton, a television producer, was scammed by Marianne Smyth, who presented herself as an Irish heiress and a close friend. Over several years Walton handed Smyth more than $100,000. Smyth used lies, multiple aliases, and elaborate personas—posing as Jennifer Aniston, claiming to be a satanic priestess, asserting membership of the IRA army council, and feigning cancer—to defraud numerous victims since childhood. Smyth received a four-year prison sentence at Downpatrick Crown Court after it emerged she had stolen over £100,000 from people in Northern Ireland. Walton wrote Anatomy of a Con Artist and hosts the podcast Queen of the Con.
Read at Irish Independent
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