Gumtree fraudster conned woman on Universal Credit out of hundreds and sent Christmas decorations and porridge oats to man expecting £1,000 computer card
A fraudster has avoided jail after conning a woman on Universal Credit out of £800 with a fake property advert - and scamming another victim into sending her £1,000 in exchange for a box of Christmas decorations and porridge oats.
Married mother-of-two Kelsey McEvilly, 26, carried out her crimes through the popular buying and selling website Gumtree.
Shrewsbury Crown Court, sitting at Telford Justice Centre, was first told how McEvilly, from Telford, swindled a man from Scotland out of money for a computer graphics card.
The conversation between McEvilly and the victim started on Gumtree on December 7, 2021, moving to WhatsApp.
He sent her £1,000 via Paypal, although she returned it to him, asking him to pay the money to a different account in the name of her husband, Wesley McEvilly.
The money was sent through, and then McEvilly asked if he wanted to buy more cards. He paid another £1,000.
However, his suspicions were raised and on December 9 he travelled from Scotland to an address in Shrewsbury, where he believed McEvilly would be.
They were in contact with one another again and it was arranged that the victim would pay a further £700 for another card.
However, while he was in Shropshire, an associate of his in Scotland opened the package that should have contained the first graphics card and discovered Christmas decorations and an open box of porridge oats.
