Violinist faces jail after conning generous well-wishers out of £300,000 with cancer lie
A FIDDLING violinist faces jail for conning well-wishers out of £300,000 by pretending to have cancer.
Bethan Doci conned freidns and strangers out of thousands in order to pay for fake cancer treatment
Freelance musician Bethan Doci, who performs under the name Bethan Morgan, told friends and strangers she needed money to pay for her treatment. She even showed her victims fake medical notes.
But blonde Doci, 38, who has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company and in concerts “around the world”, did not have the disease and was fit and well, Swansea Crown Court was told.
She has now been warned by a judge to expect a prison sentence after she pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud. Doci began to cry as the 22 charges levelled against her were read out to the court.
She led people she met into believing she was suffering from the disease and acquired money off them for treatment
Among the guilty pleas were charges she had forged a doctor’s letter. The prosecution dropped the 11 charges she denied.
The string of lies began as early as 2010, and in 2013 she kept her story afloat by claiming her cancer had returned, said prosecutor Catherine Richards.
“She led people she met into believing she was suffering from the disease and acquired money off them for treatment.”
Bethan Doci is a freelance violinists who performs under the name Bethan Morgan
Doci, of Swansea, began playing the instrument at the age of seven and trained at the Birmingham Conservatoire. Judge Keith Thomas warned her she faces jail, but requested a psychiatric report be carried out before sentence.
He said: “In light of your guilty pleas the court is not going to continue to sentence you today. We want more information about you, a psychological report and a pre-sentence report.
Doci of Swansea was able to travel the world playing violin despite claiming she was unwell
“All sentencing options, including an immediate prison sentence, are open to the court.”
Doci was bailed until November. After the case Doci said: “I was being blackmailed and the money all went to someone else and not to me.”
She vowed to explain more when she returns to court for sentencing in November.