{"id":2317,"date":"2025-04-07T10:10:09","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T10:10:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/?p=2317"},"modified":"2025-04-07T14:40:48","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T14:40:48","slug":"star-of-netflixs-con-mum-who-scammed-masterchef-son-arrested-for-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/2025\/04\/07\/star-of-netflixs-con-mum-who-scammed-masterchef-son-arrested-for-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Star of Netflix\u2019s Con Mum who scammed MasterChef son arrested for fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\t\t\"Graham\t<\/div>
Dionne Marie Hanna has been charged with fraud (Picture: Netflix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The British woman at the centre of a Netflix<\/a> documentary on how she allegedly tricked her son<\/a> into funding her expensive lifestyle has been charged with fraud in Singapore.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Several people have claimed that Dionne Marie Hanna, 84, also conned them, leading them to file police reports after watching Con Mum, according to local media. <\/p>\n

Hanna, a Singapore resident, allegedly took money from these individuals with promises to reimburse them from her inheritance from Brunei’s royal family – lineage that her son has called into question. <\/p>\n

The con is not dissimilar to the one she pulled against former MasterChef<\/a> contestant Graham Hornigold after she contacted him in 2020, claiming to be his biological mother. <\/p>\n

A DNA test later proved that Hanna was Hornigold’s mother, but she deceived him in other ways to get him to fund her lavish lifestyle, eventually leaving him in massive debt. <\/p>\n

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Wake up to find news on your TV shows in your inbox every morning with Metro’s TV Newsletter.<\/p>\n

Sign up to our newsletter<\/a> and then select your show in the link we’ll send you so we can get TV news tailored to you.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Charged with five counts of fraud, Hanna appeared before a district court on Saturday via video link while convalescing in the hospital. An investigating officer accompanied her, Singapore’s Channel NewsAsia reported.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\"Editorial\t<\/div>
Hornigold opened up about the ordeal on Lorraine (Picture: Ken McKay\/ITV\/Shutterstock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hanna is accused of manipulating three men in Singapore and France into transferring her money that she claimed she needed to cover legal fees and the opening of new bank accounts. She assured them she would pay them back and even donate to various mosques. <\/p>\n

Hornigold questioned his mother’s claims that she was terminally ill and part of the Brunei royal family in the documentary, claims that she also later made to the three men who sent her funds. <\/p>\n

While the exact sum her alleged victims sent Hanna remains unclear,preliminary investigations show she is involved in at least five cases of cheating with losses amounting to more than S$200,000 ($149,000; \u00a3115,400).<\/p>\n

If convicted of these charges, Ms Hanna faces up to 20 years in jail and a large fine.<\/p>\n

Con Mum, which was released on Netflix on 25 March, details the ordeal between Horniman and Hanna. <\/p>\n

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class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder\">\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"metro-related-video-carousel__related-video-placeholder-headline\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span><\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\t\t\twindow.addEventListener(‘metroVideo:relatedVideosCarouselLoaded’, function(data) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tif (typeof(data.detail) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel) === ‘undefined’ || typeof(data.detail.carousel.el_) === ‘undefined’) {<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\treturn;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\t}<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar player = data.detail.carousel.el_;<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar container = player.closest(‘.metro-video-player’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tvar placeholder = container.querySelector(‘.metro-video-player__up-next-placeholder’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.removeChild(placeholder);<br \/>\n\t\t\t\tcontainer.classList.add(‘metro-video-player–related-videos-loaded’);<br \/>\n\t\t\t});<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Netflix viewers have been left stunned while watching the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/true-crime-tv-series-docuseries-documentary\/\">true crime story<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>It details how when Hornigold was reunited with his mother after 45 years apart, he couldn\u2019t wait to make up for lost time.<\/p>\n<p>Born on a British army base in <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/germany\/\">Germany<\/a> before being raised in St. Albans by his father and stepmother, Hornigold said they \u2018never spoke\u2019 about his mother.<\/p>\n<p>Throughout his childhood Hornigold \u2013 who went on to become a successful pastry chef and has appeared on <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/tag\/masterchef\/\">MasterChef<\/a>\u2013 was also beaten by his alcoholic father. He pursued a career as a chef to have a \u2018roof over his head, somewhere warm and access to food.’<\/p>\n<p>So, when in 2020 he got an email out of the blue from his biological mother, he was ecstatic, if wary that she may be a scammer. <\/p>\n<p>It quickly became apparent that Dionna Marie Hanna was his mother, and the pair planned to reunite. <\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"323\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_243406883-cf32.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22769753\" alt=\"FAO SARAH PACKER - Graham Hornigold - Con Mum - NETFLIX\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>In the documentary, Hornigold details how his mother’s deception left him questioning his identity (Picture: David Tarling)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After receiving that initial email, Graham and his wife Heather travelled from London to Liverpool to meet his mother for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018We bonded right away, and I knew this was my mum,\u2019 he recalls in the documentary.<\/p>\n<p>As he got to know Dionne it became apparent she was incredibly wealthy, splashing out on luxurious hotels, Michelin-starred restaurants and designer clothes.<\/p>\n<p>She even bought her son a Land Rover worth \u00a374,000, as well as another car for his wife so she \u2018didn\u2019t feel left out\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Dionne explained her wealth came from owning land, farms and businesses worldwide. But she said the primary source of her seemingly never-ending income came from being the illegitimate daughter of the Sultan of Brunei.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"img-container shareable-item wp-caption\">\n<div class=\"img-wrap\">\n\t\t<img width=\"646\" height=\"921\" src=\"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/SEI_243322275-7edc.jpg\" class=\"article-image wp-image-22769755\" alt=\"In July 2020, TV pastry chef and co-founder of Longboys Doughnuts, Graham Hornigold, received a message that he had been waiting for all his life. The email was from a woman called Dionne who said that she was searching for her son who had been taken away from her aged two. Less than a week later Graham is sitting in the penthouse of a Liverpool hotel drinking champagne and building a relationship with the mum he thought he?d never get to meet. A successful business woman, Dionne introduces Graham to an opulent lifestyle but after a whirlwind few months, Graham begins to wonder if all that glitters isn't gold - and whether Dionne is truly his long lost mum. **MAIL ONLINE EXCLUSIVE ON TUESDAY 11 MARCH, 10AM GMT** STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL TUESDAY 11 MARCH, 11AM GMT\" loading=\"lazy\" \/>\t<\/div><figcaption>The shocking story has been a hit on Netflix (Picture: Netflix)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Despite this seeming far-fetched, Graham had no reason to question her \u2013 especially when staff at luxury hotels and designer stores knew her well.<\/p>\n<p>But within a year of meeting, Graham would discover her <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/2024\/02\/12\/british-tinder-swindler-conned-15-women-300-000-20262716\/\">shocking web of lies <\/a>that left him hundreds of thousands of pounds in debt and questioning his very identity.<\/p>\n<p>As time passed, Hanna began to leave Hornigold and his friends to pay her enormous bills – Hornigold said in the film that he lost \u00a3300,000 – and then his mother suddenly disappeared. <\/p>\n<p>The film suggests that Hanna had previously been convicted in the UK for shoplifting and fraud.<\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\"><strong>Got a story?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">If you\u2019ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\">Metro.co.uk<\/a> entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our <a href=\"https:\/\/metro.co.uk\/submit-stuff\/\">Submit Stuff<\/a> page – we\u2019d love to hear from you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p class=\"text-justify mb-2\" >Dionne Marie Hanna has been charged with fraud (Picture: Netflix) The British woman at the centre of a Netflix documentary on how she allegedly tricked her son into funding her expensive lifestyle has been charged with fraud in Singapore. Several people have claimed that Dionne […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2319,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2324,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions\/2324"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.nichesitetool.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}