By Amy Jones,Hannah Ahmed
Copyright birminghammail
A mum who lied about having terminal cancer in order to con her boyfriend into unknowingly paying for a chest enhancement has been ordered to pay back £30,000. Laura McPherson, 35, falsely told her partner, Jon Leonard, that she had cervical, ovarian, colon, bowel and breast cancer. The mother of a young child even went so far as to leading her daughter to believe her mum was dying from cancer. McPherson’s “elaborate tale of deceit” saw the woman from Derby weave a web of lies, which included sending selfies of herself supposedly receiving treatment at various medical facilities. READ MORE: Inside Midland street where landslip has left residents blocked in for 12 months She also told Mr Leonard she needed money in order to pay for specialist care at a private clinic in Austria, as well as telling him she had undergone a hysterectomy, in addition to also falsely claiming she was receiving chemotherapy in hospital. Mr Leonard even tried to arrange for McPherson to see a leading UK cancer treatment specialist, but the woman insisted she would rather stick with her NHS treatment, the Mirror reported. While her partner and young daughter worried sick about her health, McPherson was busy splashing her boyfriend’s money on breast enhancement procedures, as well as holistic and weight loss treatments during trips abroad. In total, Mr Leonard, who has raised almost £40 million for cancer charities through his business Ultra Events, was conned out of £25,000. He had also gifted his then-girlfriend a £30,000 Rolex in celebration of getting the all-clear from one form of cancer. At a hearing at Derby Crown Court on October 6, McPherson was ordered to pay back £30,714 by January 5. The court heard how the compensation would be raised through the sale of a watch, but it wasn’t confirmed whether this would be the Rolex, The Sun reports. This order comes after McPherson was spared going to jail but handed a two-year community order earlier this year. Following the hearing this month, Mr Leonard said in a statement: “It’s finally over. Today marks the end of eight and a half challenging years. “She never had cancer and it has now come to light she has been making up having cancer since she was in secondary school long before I knew her. “She has been exposed for the horrible, lying, manipulative individual she is.” READ MORE: Libraries and community centres saved from axe after £500k town council bail out During a hearing in March, Judge Jonathan Straw said: “Laura McPherson, you are a wicked and devious liar who embarked on five years of deceit. “It is difficult to imagine how an individual could be so calculated and cruel to those who loved and cared for her. “This was a sophisticated offence involving significant planning which was carried out over a sustained period of time. “This is a high impact offence which has had a serious and detrimental effect on Mr Leonard, both financially and emotionally.” Prosecutor Siward James-Moore told the court that McPherson duped Mr Leonard into giving her thousands of pounds between March 1 2017 and January 31, 2022. He stated: “She lied about the cancer diagnosis first saying she was undergoing chemotherapy at the Royal Derby Hospital for cervical cancer. “She then went on to say she’d got colon and breast cancer and was going to travel to the Mayr clinic in Austria and asked Mr Leonard for money. “She told him she had terminal cancer and he found a leading doctor in that field but she said she would rather have the treatment on the NHS. “He saw messages to the clinic in Austria where it was obvious it was related to weight loss therapy. “Perhaps the final straw was on New Year’s Eve, 2021, when he dropped her off for treatment, he was told not to come in and she exchanged text messages with him saying she was being hydrated.”