A woman who used the username “Honest Gold Digger” on a dating app tricked a vulnerable man into marrying her and left him without any money.
The victim, a man in his mid-60s with serious health issues, moved 350 miles from Brighton to Tynemouth to be with Lisa Elliot. But after their wedding, Elliot limited the man’s freedom in their home, restricted his access to food, and left him penniless.
The man, who had previously struggled with alcoholism but was sober when they met, eventually found the strength to leave Elliot in late 2017. He later discovered that she had taken more than £16,000 from him. He has since died, the Chronicle reports.
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In a statement at Newcastle Crown Court last week, the victim’s daughter shared how her dad changed from being “vivacious, fascinating, generous and inspiring” to very vulnerable because of his health problems. She explained that he felt “dehumanised and humiliated”, “embarrassed and ashamed” and said: “He was robbed of everything he had at a time he needed it most. He was left with almost nothing.
“He had nowhere to stay, zero options, zero finance, zero dignity and for the first time ever significant debt. He was a shell of his former self when he died in 2021.”
The family of the victim are still haunted by what happened. Elliot, 59, admitted to fraud and was sent to prison for two years and three months. The judge told her: “You described yourself as an honest gold digger but you stressed when you spoke to him the word honest. Of course, you were anything but honest.
“This took place against a background, which is accepted by your pleas, of a relationship involving features of controlling and coercive behaviour including preventing him from leaving or moving freely around the house and restricting his access to food.
“Money was just the tip of the iceberg of the damage you have done. You should be able to trust your partner. This was a particularly vulnerable victim and it had a seriously detrimental effect not only on him but on his family.
“The victim did not live to see you face justice. You were his partner, he was extremely vulnerable. He should have been able to trust you but instead you callously defrauded him. We have heard the kind of man he was and he deserved better.”
Prosecutor Jess Butterell told the court that the man’s family was so worried about how he was being treated that they called the police. Miss Butterell said that even though Elliot knew she was under suspicion, she got a male friend to help her use two of the victim’s credit cards by pretending to be him on the phone.
By then, she had used her unsuspecting husband’s identity to buy gold coins, used his credit and debit cards to buy things for herself from Amazon and Marks and Spencer, and moved thousands of pounds from his account into her own bank account.
The court heard that Elliot used to work as a civil servant before she started teaching university students. She then went on long term sick leave after her husband died. She has no previous convictions. Sam Faulks, defending, said she has mental health problems.
* An AI tool was used to add an extra layer to the editing process for this story.