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A professional violinist conned three retired men into giving her more than £300,000 by pretending she had cancer.

Bethan Doci, 38, used the funds to pay for lavish holidays with her French boyfriend, expensive handbags and top-of-the-range cars.

She had claimed that she was suffering from cancer and needed money to pay for her treatment.

Swansea Crown Court heard that the freelance violinist was in fact fit and well – earning £24,000 a year playing with orchestras.

Doci – who has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and concerts around the world on both the violin and viola – conned three kindhearted men who answered her advert on the Craigslist website in which she appealed for cash help.

Given £357,000 over three years

The three men, living in different parts of England, gave her £357,000 over a period of three years – during which she jetted around the world to stay in Florida, Spain and a luxury hotel in Mexico for three months.

Her lover Aurelia Severino went with her on the luxury jaunts with the defrauded money.

She duped retired chartered accountant Liam Donnelly, 64, out of £170,000, retired businessman Bruce Pilley, 58, out of £168,000 and retired Royal Navy officer Neil McKelvie, 56, out of £30,000 – although she repaid some of the cash.

Prosecutor Catherine Richards said: “It involved showing people fake doctors’ notes.

“She led people she met into believing she was suffering from the disease and acquiring money off them for treatment. In the case of Mr Donnelly, his wife had recently died from skin cancer. She also claimed she was suffering from cancer.”

Mr Donnelly told police how she caught him at a “terrible time in his life” as he mourned his wife.

The court heard he gave Doci all his life savings, including the inheritance he planned for his family – and had to carry on working for an extra five years in his accountancy business.

"Her lies and deception were convoluted"

Swansea Crown Court heard that after the three men responded to her pleas on the website, they exchanged emails and texts, but rarely spoke to her.

Miss Richards said: “Her lies and deception were convoluted.

“Her pleas that she needed money for cancer treatment were all false. Her lies and deception became more and more elaborate. Her emails were urgent and full of lies. She said that her mother had died but that wasn’t true.”

The court heard Doci claimed she needed money because an Albanian gang were targeting her.

Miss Richards said: “She told Mr Pilley that she needed money for urgent medical treatment and told him she had been given a terminal diagnosis.

“At the time she was on holiday in Spain – and this after lying that her mother had died.”

Callous and heartless manner

Miss Richards said Doci began the cancer lie in 2010 and in 2013 told one victim the disease had returned.

Doci, of the Copper Quarter, Swansea , admitted 11 counts of fraud from 2010-13. She denied another 11 charges which were dropped later.

Jailing her for 32 months, Judge Keith Thomas said: “You committed these offences in a callous and heartless manner, saying you were suffering from cancer and needed treatment which you couldn’t afford.”

The court heard she had no assets left after spending all the money and was ordered to repay a nominal £1 in compensation.