Conwoman: Jayne Maughan, 41, pictured arriving at Teesside Crown Court this morning, used an IVF appointment as mitigation in her fraud sentencing

A conwoman who scammed a pensioner out of more than £15,000 after stealing cheques from his home avoided jail today after telling a judge it was her last chance to have IVF treatment.

Jayne Maughan, 41, had used an appointment as mitigation in a previous hearing, arousing the suspicion of a judge who believed it may have been an attempt to evade a prison term for fraud.

Her sentencing hearing in July was adjourned after Judge Sean Morris demanded proof of the documents from James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough that Maughan claimed were at her home.

Today, she returned to Teesside Crown Court where she was given a 15-month suspended sentence after stealing the money from a retired teacher and using it to fund her spending habits.

The court was told by her barrister, Richard Herrmann, that he now had evidence which showed that Maughan had seen a gynaecologist about her IVF treatment in March.

He said: ‘These offences date back to 2010. She was hoping to begin the final cycle of treatment and was seeing a consultant and I have evidence from a letter which is dated March 18.

‘The letter also describes complications with regards to a family member being an egg donor. She has now passed her 41st birthday, the cut-off point for treatment on the NHS, so the possibility of having IVF has gone.’

Maughan - jailed in the past for an identical scam, and once for robbery - stole the cheques five years ago from the retired teacher and paid them into her own account.

Ian West, prosecuting, told the court that the victim had met the defendant after he struck up a friendship with her then partner when the two met while serving prison sentences.

Hearing: Maughan returned to Teesside Crown Court (pictured) today where she was given a 15-month suspended sentence after stealing the money from a retired teacher and using it to fund her spending habits

They had visited the pensioner in his home when Maughan found his chequebook and picked out cheques from various parts in an attempt to get away with the fraud for as long as possible.

The victim, who was suffering from alcohol-related problems at the time and had previously been imprisoned for a drink-driving offence, did not notice the £15,500 missing for several years.

Delay: Her sentencing hearing in July was adjourned after Judge Sean Morris (pictured) demanded proof of the documents from the hospital

When she was arrested in 2013, she told police she had been paid the money for ‘cleaning work’.

Mr West said: ‘She said she made repeated visits to the house, and this was his way of thanking her - with extravagant sums.’

At the earlier hearing, she wept loudly as Mr West outlined what she had done and was even told to be silent by Judge Morris.

Maughan, of South Bank, Middlesbrough, had pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud after a handwriting expert proved the victim did not sign the cheques.

The judge told her: ‘I accept the IVF treatment was a genuine possibility. You pleaded guilty, you owned up and the case goes back to 2010. I don’t think it would be appropriate to make you serve the sentence immediately.’