Nigeria
forward Osaze Odemwingie will have his stolen money, totalling around
£22,000, refunded after the fraudster Claire Duke pledged in the
Stafford Crown Court to pay back over £80,000 to her victims.
According to Daily Mail, the
38-year-old mother of two, whose business offered concierge services and
organised holidays and trips abroad, pleaded guilty to seven counts of
fraud on Wednesday, including one relating to the Stoke City striker.
Hugh O’Brien-Quinn, prosecuting, said
Odemwingie had paid Duke £7,000 so she could book him flights to Miami.
He added: “He paid with his debit card.
He married his fiancée in May 2012 and his future parents in law paid £7,560 to book a honeymoon.
“The defendant pocketed that money but
needed to cover her tracks and book a honeymoon. So in April 2012 she
used Odemwingie’s debit card details and paid £7,471.12 from that
account to another company who arranged the honeymoon.
She received £1,000 commission and even handed over the tickets at the wedding reception.
“She then used Odemwingie’s card again for return flights from Eindhoven to London for a football agent priced at £325.33.”
Mr O’Brien-Quinn added: “On April 10,
Andre Wisdom, a player for Liverpool FC paid £6,600 to the defendant for
a flight to Jamaica. That money has disappeared.
“Again she needed to cover her tracks and
used Odemwingie’s account to do so, paying £15,160.44 for flights and
hotels for Mr Wisdom’s holiday to Jamaica.”
The judge told the sobbing Duke, “You
appear to be someone who on the face of it is terrified of the court’s
powers, and accepting that what you have done was appalling.
“You have pleaded guilty to seven matters
of fraud involving professional, hard-working people wanting to spend
money on holidays and treats.”
Duke, who was given a two-year custodial
sentence suspended for two years, told reporters as she left the court
that she was deeply sorry for the stress and upset she had caused.
“I would just like to pass on my sincere apologies to everyone,” she said.
Agency reporter
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