The art of the con ...Woman fakes her kidnap, sends ransom note to boy friend while hding out in her house

Woman hid in her London flat while pretending to her boyfriend she had been kidnapped in Jamaica to try and trick him into paying her £25,000 ' ($40000) ransom money'

'Sent a picture to boyfriend showing her tied up and gagged, wearing a t-shirt with the words 'gold digger' 

Photo: SWNS
 Nadine Smith pretended she had been taken hostage by a criminal gang in Jamaica who were threatening to kill her unless her lover paid up

38 year old Nadine Smith lied about being taken hostage by gang on Caribbean island. She sent her partner Chris Laytham images of her tied up and gagged. He was told down the phone she would be killed unless he paid £25,000.  He chose not to, contacted the police and they traced the calls to Britain.  Mother-of-two today avoided jail despite admitting trying to blackmail 
She  pretended she had been taken hostage by a criminal gang in Jamaica who were threatening to kill her unless her lover Chris Laytham, 56, paid up.Chris received a picture in December of Smith tied up and gagged, wearing a t-shirt with the words 'gold digger' written on it, which he recognized. Douglas Adams told However, thet heard Smith was actually in her Battersea flat all along.

Mr Laytham had already given her £100,000 ($145.000) over their five year relationship and even helped her buy a house in Jamaica. He chose not to send any money but notified the police about the texts and the possible kidnapping. The police kidnap squad found all the calls and texts had been made in the UK and that Mr Laytham had been the victim of an attempted fraud.




They went to her address and arrested Jamaican born Smith who pleaded guilty to one count of blackmail last month. In court. the single mother-of-two was told how close she had come to being jailed as she was given a 18 month sentence, suspended for 12 months. The prosecutor the court Mr Laytham had been the manager of the estate Smith had lived on and the pair started a relationship in 2010, but it cooled off over a period of time.

'He says over the period up to the end of December last year he had given the defendant £100,000,' explained Mr Adams.  'Indeed he helped her buy a property in Jamaica that he was hoping they would retire to.

'In December last year the defendant told him her mother was ill in Jamaica and she wanted to go there to see her and care for her.' The court heard he gave her the money for the flight and an operation totalling £3,000.  'Then on the 16th of December a series of messages are received by Mr Laytham.

'The first one was a man speaking with a Jamaican accent who said "who is Chucky to you", referring to the defendant. He said they were going to kill her.' He then received a message from her and she told him: 'They have got me and they want money'.


Courtesy: mail