A British woman who was charged with fraud after allegedly conning multiple people – including her son – to fund her lavish lifestyle will face further charges in Singapore.
Dionne Marie Hanna's alleged victims accuse the Singapore resident of taking their money with the promise they would be reimbursed through her inheritance from Brunei's royal family.
The 85-year-old, who was arrested and charged last year after being featured in the Netflix documentary Con Mum, was handed an additional 34 charges on Thursday, bringing the total against her to 39.
The number of alleged victims has now increased to 14, according to local news outlet Channel NewsAsia.
Among those is London-based pastry chef Graham Hornigold, her long-estranged son.
The new charge sheets include allegations that Hanna tricked one man into paying hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditure on her behalf, telling him she would repay him and make him her stepson.
Another accuses Hanna of telling a woman that she would buy things for her – including Lexus and Aston Martin cars and a property in Singapore's prestigious Sentosa Cove – if the woman gave her money for 'processing fees'.
Hanna was previously accused of deceiving three men in Singapore and France into transferring money to her accounts, claiming the funds were needed as legal fees and for the opening of new bank accounts.
She sought their sympathy by saying she was terminally ill and vouched to reimburse them through her inheritance, claiming she was part of the Brunei royal family.
In exchange for their money, she also made promises to donate millions of dollars to a mosque and a Muslim non-profit organisation in Singapore, the court heard last year.
Hanna faces a raft of charges including cheating and fraud by false representation – the latter of which carries potential fines and jail terms of up to 20 years.
Her case was fixed for a pre-trial conference in May.
Con Mum, which was released on Netflix on 25 March, follows Hornigold's reunion with Ms Hanna in the UK, after she contacts him claiming to be his long-lost mother.
A DNA test later proves this to be true. But in the documentary, Hornigold disputes her claims to royalty.
Hanna presented herself as a wealthy, illegitimate daughter of the sultan of Brunei, initially showering Hornigold, his then-partner Heather Kaniuk and his friends with lavish gifts, from cars to homes.
Despite being initially sceptical, Hornigold, who has worked in Michelin-starred restaurants, quickly developed a close relationship with his mother.
But over time, Hanna began to leave Hornigold and his friends to foot her escalating bills. Hornigold said in the documentary that he lost £300,000 in the process.
The film suggests that Hanna had previously been convicted in the UK for shoplifting and fraud.
