Ann Dunlop spared jail over fake Hollywood actress scam

Ann Dunlop, 69, claimed her daughter Heather Dunlop, 40, was being lined up for million pound contracts.

Dunlop convinced brother David Bunton, 52, to hand Heather cash to help her make the breakthrough.

She stated that Heather was mingling with A-listers such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Beyonce as well as being managed by US entertainment executive Irving Azoff.

Dunlop, formerly of Gourock and Port Glasgow, also induced her sister Jean Allan and her husband Steven Allan with the string of lies.

Glasgow Sheriff Court, where Ann Dunlop was sentenced on Wednesday. (Image: Archives) Steven believed that Dunlop and Heather, both formerly of Port Glasgow, had "champagne on tap" at the plush London home they shared.

He stated that he believed Dunlop and her family were "like the Waltons" but ended up "like the Dingles." 

Steven stated Heather’s acting career was a "best kept secret" and compared it to the nuclear codes at Faslane.

READ MORE: Port Glasgow woman jailed after conning family in 'fake Hollywood actress' scam

Dunlop later asked Steven and Jean to pay her and Heather’s gas and council tax bills as she did not have enough money.

Dunlop was found guilty last year of defrauding her family of a total of £35,368 at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

Heather was jailed last week for eight months after she pleaded guilty to a similar charge. 

Sheriff Vincent Lunny also told the hearing that Dunlop, of Margate, Kent, should find a Scottish address to be given a tag, or she faced a similar fate to her daughter.

Last week's hearing had also been told that the pair had repaid just a tenth of the cash.

Dunlop’s lawyer Neil Stewart told a sentencing hearing at the same court on Wednesday that she will stay with her own mother. 

Sheriff Lunny put Dunlop on a restriction of liberty order which is an “alternative to custody”.

He said: “The stress to your family was significant but I can take a step back, only just, from custody.

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“I appreciate that being told money was available [to pay their victims back] did not come from you, and it does distinguish you to some extent.

“Your evidence at trial was not believed at all, and your appeal was unsuccessful.”

The court heard during the trial that Heather - who used the name Heather Cameron - had appeared in a non-speaking role in a BBC period drama as well as a TV show staring comedian Noel Fielding.

Ann Dunlop was originally found guilty last year. (Image: Spindrift) David Bunton, the chief executive of a life science company, was approached by Dunlop and Heather in March 2016 after he sold his business.

He stated that he handed over £5,000 to the pair, formerly of Port Glasgow, in order for the actress to "build her career."

David told the court that he was informed by Dunlop that Heather was being represented by Hollywood mogul Irving Azoff.

He said: "There was talk about meeting Beyonce and Jay Z, movies with Quentin Tarantino and Michael Keaton. 

"She went to the Oscars to make various connections.

READ MORE: Inverclyde woman conned family in 'Hollywood' scam with lies over links to A-listers

"Azoff was her manager, she met Leonardo Di Caprio and she was working on promotional activity for Chanel which would go alongside her movies."

The family were also told that Heather was set to star in a movie version of the musical Wicked, directed by Tim Burton.

David said that he was unaware of the figure the woman was to receive but believed it was millions.

David handed over a further £27,000 to the pair as he heard that Dunlop and her husband who also lived with them were "struggling."

He also footed a bill for their council tax and gas.

Prosecutor Redmond Harris asked about any repayment. 

David: “It was promised...this was made clear by phone calls and texts."

David was not paid back and his suspicions rose after Heather failed to appear in a Chanel Christmas advert in 2016.

Fears further heightened after he hired a private investigator to keep tabs on Heather.

He said: "[We wanted] To establish if there was a relationship with Irving Azoff and if it was true that she was an actor and was there any basis to what we had been told in previous months." 

Ann Dunlop and her daughter Heather Dunlop conned their family out of more than £35,000 - but have since repaid just a tenth of that total. (Image: Spindrift) Mr Harris asked: "Following things with the private investigator, were your suspicions greater or unfounded?"

David said: "It confirmed what our fears were."

David met Dunlop in a London pub in 2017 but did not receive a satisfactory answer as to why he had not been paid back.

Mr Harris asked: "What do you know about the woman's acting career?" 

Mr Bunton: "From internet searching, there was no career to my knowledge."

David and Dunlop's brother-in-law Steven Allan, 67, claimed he was under the impression Dunlop and Heather were living a "movie type of lifestyle in London."

Steven recalled visiting the pair at their Notting Hill home for Dunlop's 60th birthday party.

He said: "I had never seen so many bottles of champagne...the champagne was on tap there."

Steven stated that Heather shopped at Harrods and went to handbag stores in London.

Steven paid for Dunlop's £600 gas bill in November 2016 before transferring £1,000 of his overdraft to her as "she said she didn't have enough money."

He claimed Dunlop told him that he would be repaid in two weeks.

Glasgow Sheriff Court, where former Port Glasgow woman Ann Dunlop was told she'll be tagged to her mother's address in Scotland. (Image: Newsquest) Steven added: "The explanation was there was a large sum of money in Coutts Bank, but it was put in an investment fund, and it was not available immediately, but it would be sorted out."

Steven stated that he was later told by Dunlop that Tim Burton had collected Heather’s bank cards and put them in a safe.

Mr Harris asked about Steven's relationship with his wife's family before the bank transfers.

He said: "I thought I had married into the Waltons...I didn't know I had actually married into the Dingles."

Steven said Heather’s acting career was the "best kept secret than the nuclear codes at Faslane."

Last week’s hearing was told that just 10 per cent of the cash has been paid back to the victims.