Mother Faked Terminal Cancer for Five Years to Deceive Partner Out of £25,000

A mother of two pretended to have terminal cancer for five years, deceiving her partner out of £25,000 while also convincing her young daughter she was dying, a court heard.

Laura McPherson, 35, falsely claimed to have cervical, ovarian, colon, bowel, and breast cancer, using the money her partner, Jon Leonard, believed was for treatment to fund breast enhancement surgery and luxury spa days.

Appearing at Derby Crown Court, McPherson was spared jail despite what the judge described as an "elaborate tale of deceit." Judge Jonathan Straw sentenced her to a community order, stating her deception was driven by a need for "attention and money."

McPherson met Mr. Leonard, a 44-year-old company director who helped raise £39 million for charitable causes, in 2011. Six years later, she announced she had cervical cancer and shared her fabricated diagnosis with friends, family, and her then 12-year-old daughter.

"The school would regularly call to say [her daughter] had been crying because she was worried her mum would die," Mr. Leonard told the court.

Prosecutor Siward James-Moore explained that McPherson insisted on attending all medical appointments alone. Between 2018 and 2022, she escalated her lies, claiming to have additional cancers. In 2018, she convinced Mr. Leonard to buy her a £30,000 Rolex watch after falsely telling him she had been given the all-clear.

In 2020, she booked herself into a private clinic under the guise of undergoing a mastectomy but instead had breast augmentation surgery. Her deception unravelled in December 2021 when Mr. Leonard dropped her off at the hospital for treatment—only to later discover she had never been admitted.

The Johnson Partnership, Derby