NSW: Scammer needed money for son's heroin addiction, court told

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2005
NSW: Scammer needed money for son's heroin addiction, court told

By Tara Ravens

SYDNEY, Aug 4 AAP - A woman who scammed more than $130,000 from 10 elderly men she
met through lonely heart ads has told a Sydney court she needed the money to feed her
gambling habit and support her son's heroin addiction.

Susan Reed, 50, from Lambton in suburban Newcastle, netted $135,020 between 1997 and
May last year, after placing advertisements in newspaper personals columns seeking relationships
with men aged over 65.

Once she had befriended them, Reed would ask the men - the oldest of whom was 88 -

to send her cash or cheques to pay for cruise holidays or business ventures.

Swansea pensioner Desmond Matthews, 74, sent Reed $95,000 for a quarter share in an
alleged brothel and lost his life savings, the court was told.

The grandmother and mother of three, who was on parole when she committed eight of
the fraud charges, pleaded guilty last month to ten counts of obtaining money by deception.

During sentencing submissions in Downing Centre Local Court today, she said she used
the money to pay for her son's heroin addiction, to support her gambling habit and fund
a custody battle for her grandchildren.

Her lawyer Chris Pike said Reed was struggling to come to terms with years of sexual
abuse, a mental illness and the loss of her first husband and youngest son, who died from
hereditary heart disease.

"The personal circumstances of my client have been particularly tragic with the death
of her husband and son, his heroin addiction and her gambling," he said during sentencing
submissions.

"She has a credible desire to protect her grandchildren, which is evidence she is not
an evil sociopath.

"It is possible she can turn her life around, indeed if she does not she will look
forward to spending the remaining portion of her life in jail.

But crown counsel Sally Dowling said Reed had 93 prior fraud related convictions, had
already spent seven years in prison and was likely to offend again.

"She has an astounding number of previous convictions that are virtually identical
... the offender has cynically targeted and exploited vulnerable, lonely old men," Ms
Dowling said.

Crying in the witness stand, Reed told the court she was sorry for her actions and
had sent more than $9,000 to one of her victims.

"I have betrayed people who gave me their trust and I deceived them for my own gain," she said.

"I can't tell you how sorry I am. I can't tell these people how sorry I am. They have
no idea how sorry I am."

Judge Stephen Walmsley will sentence Reed on September 2.

AAP tr/was/evt/bwl

KEYWORD: REED NIGHTLEAD

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