'Military Mistress' accused of marrying at least 14 men and draining thousands from their accounts claims she is just unlucky in love

A woman dubbed the 'Military Mistress' after she married at least 14 men and allegedly drained thousands from their bank accounts has claimed that she was just bad at being in love.



Bobbi Ann Finley is accused of stalking, conning and stealing up to $100,000 each from American soldiers for almost two decades.



But the 35-year-old, who is currently in jail after pleading guilty to theft by deception, has said that her marriages to the servicemen were not a con.

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Unlucky in love? Bobbi Ann Finley claimed in a jailhouse interview that her marriages were not scams

Finley, who had nine children with as many men, became infamous for targeting military personnel before allegedly taking their money and leaving them in financial ruin.



In a jailhouse interview, the woman admitted that she may have destroyed lives, but she claims she is a victim who has had a hard upbringing.

'I wasn't running a con,' Finley said. 'I wanted protection, the protection that I should have had growing up... I married these guys I couldn't love.'



'I was looking for love. I was looking for understanding, I was looking for someone to say, "You know, it is going to be OK",' Finley told ABC's 20/20.

'In many of the cases, you look and you started out and you get married and you're thinking, 'Oh, I'm going to live happily ever after." And then you realise as soon it's done... it was a mistake,' she said.

Solidarity: Some of Finley's at least 14 husbands told 20/20 how they were seduced by her charm and good housekeeping skills

Blame game: Finley said that she found it hard staying in love with people because of her difficult childhood

For nearly 20 year, Finley allegedly preyed on military bases where she lied to servicemen claiming to be a wealthy heiress, the daughter of a general or an injured veteran about to get a large pay-out.



'She was smart, funny, witty, beautiful,' Jacob Anderson, one of Finley's ex-husbands, told ABC News.



'I mean, you'd come home... you didn't need to ask one... it was clean.

'Our food was cooked, and the food was excellent. Dishes were done, house was immaculate. You were going like, "Wow, I couldn't ask for anybody better".'



But things soon changed when the men married Finley and money allegedly started disappearing from their accounts.

United: 'Military Mistress' Finley married at least 14 men over two decades



Offspring: Finley had nine children with the same number of men



Discovery: Finley's life as a serial wife was revealed when one of her mother-in-laws decided to seek the truth

'The devil himself is a pot of gold compared to her,' said Shane Cheesman, one of Finley's ex-husbands whose marriage was annulled after a week.



'She has no heart. She has no feelings, no remorse,' he told ABC News.



But Finley's alleged scam began to unravel in 2004 when she got on the wrong side of one of her many mother-in-laws.



Katie Wegg, whose son Rodney had fallen for Finley when he was a reservist stationed in Texas, began a six-year-crusade to bring her to justice after her son went away for the weekend and came home to find money gone from his checking account.



She found that Finley had a history of fraud and bigamy, and had given birth to children and never told the fathers.



Thief: Finley is accused of taking up to $100,000 from her husband's accounts. She is wanted in several states Locked up: Finley is currently serving three years in an Alabama jail

'[Rodney] had a child out there and he wanted to know where this child was. And he wanted his child,' Mrs Wegg told ABC News. 'These guys didn't know they had children.'



Finley served an eight-month sentence for forging cheques from Mr Wegg's account in 2007.



She was arrested again in June 2010 and extradited to Alabama was jailed in February after pleading guilty to theft by deception and ordered to pay $5,300 in restitution. She is wanted on further charges in other states.



'I mean, I'm angry. I'm sad. I'm lonely... because of what Bobbi did,' said Jeffrey Dietiker, one of Finley's ex-husbands.



'And now I'm paying for it, with every relationship I get in... Trust was everything I had, and now I don't.'

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