Leonnie Robson spun lies to the victims to get them to hand over money, including that she had cancer and that her daughter had died by suicide.

Norwich Crown Court heard she targeted nine men online over a 16-month period, conning them out of a total of £8,176, with one of them giving her £3,000.

Norwich Crown Court (Image: Peter Walsh, Newsquest)

On one occasion, the 35-year-old started requesting money just 14 minutes after making contact with the victim.

One victim was conned into emptying his entire account.

Robson has 33 previous convictions for 87 offences, including 31 earlier frauds, and carried out the offences while she was on licence, having served a second prison term for fraud.

Simon Gladwell, prosecuting, said Robson duped the men into paying the money into accounts linked with her, then blocked them when they started to ask questions.

He said she presented a range of "lies" to the men.

These included that she was fleeing domestic violence, was undergoing chemotherapy, needed to buy birthday items for her children and that she had herself been a victim of fraud and needed cash for food, fuel and utilities bills.

Robson, a mother of six whose own children have been taken into care, even told one of the victims her daughter had taken her own life.

Leonnie Robson (Image: Norfolk Constabulary)

She contacted the men on a Facebook dating site before moving conversations to WhatsApp, where she would start asking for money.

She would start by asking for £10 or £20 before returning for more.

Mr Gladwell said that after being loaned money by the victim's Robson would then make excuses as to why she could not repay them and then block them.

The amounts of money given to Robson ranged from £36 to up to £3,000.

None of the money was ever repaid.

She was caught after the carer of one of her victims reported concerns the man was sending money to someone he had met online.

Robson, formerly of Victoria Road, Great Yarmouth, but now of Dickens Road in the town, appeared at court on Friday for sentencing.

Leonnie Robson moved her contact onto WhatsApp after meeting them through Facebook (Image: Newsquest)

The defendant, admitted five frauds and asked for two others - similar offences committed last summer - to be taken into consideration.

Leonnie Robson (Image: Facebook)

Judge Alice Robinson said Robson had been "spinning them lies about your personal life in order to gain their sympathy and trust to persuade them to part with money".

Judge Alice Robinson (Image: Newsquest)

She said she was sure her offending has had a serious detrimental impact on the victims one of whom she pursued "mercilessly for everything he had" until he paid over his last £1.07 which was "all he had in his account".

Imposing a two year, nine week jail sentence, the judge said "it's quite clear this is extremely serious offending" with the crimes taking "significant planning".

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Before Robson - who was in tears - was sentenced the court heard statements from some of the victims.

One of the men, who read out his statement, said he had "wanted to meet someone" to have a friendship with but felt differently after being conned by Robson.

"I was open to meeting someone," he said.

"But I feel now that being alone is a better option".

He said he had become a "recluse" and feels embarrassed and that "I don't feel I can tell people what happened".

Another victim said he still did not think what happened to him had "sunk in".

Following the break-up of a previous relationship he had been looking for a companion and Robson was one of the first people he had contact with.

Although he wanted to find someone to share his life with he said he could not leave himself open to "this happening again".

Another victim said he could not afford to lose the £1,500 he had lost to Robson.

He said she "took me for a ride" and he "didn't want anyone else to go through what I have".

Martin Ivory, for Robson, said his client "regrets what she set about doing" and added her guilty pleas were her best mitigation.

He said Robson, who was formerly addicted to heroin and cocaine, accepted being "mean" although had not targeted people because they were vulnerable.

Mr Ivory said she has "accepted responsibility" for her actions the motivation of which was "strained finances".

© Norwich Evening News