Fraudster, 45, Who Lied About Having Dementia On This Morning & Stole $721k Faces Jail

A woman who claimed to be one of the youngest persons to ever suffer dementia on ITV's This Morning was imprisoned today after receiving $721k from her council in a major fraud scheme.

Laura and Philip Borrell, both 45, were imprisoned after they used a substantial benefits scam to bilk their way into a life of luxury.

The couple resided on substantial government payments that Laura's mother, Frances Noble, fraudulently obtained from Hertfordshire County Council.

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In what the judge described as possibly the biggest scam of its kind to be brought before English courts, Noble, 66, was sentenced to prison last month.

According to testimony given in St. Albans Crown Court, Noble's daughter and son-in-law received large amounts of benefits money that they used to pay for vacation trips.

Noble deceived the council between 2005 and 2018 into thinking she was bedridden and needed 24-hour home care at her property in Datchworth, close to Stevenage.

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Even a neighbor who witnessed her walking her dog and another who recorded her walking through her backyard caught her in the lie.

Earlier, according to prosecutor Andrew Johnson, when a neighbor noticed Noble in her backyard, she pulled a hood over her face and said: "I am not Frances. I am her carer."

Noble, of Weston, Hertfordshire, had earlier pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation but failed to show up for her sentencing hearing in June.

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After the investigation started, she and her daughter and son-in-law relocated to Berlin in 2019. There is a warrant out for her arrest and extradition.

Laura and Philip, both of Weston, admitted receiving $221k and entered separate guilty pleas for money laundering. Philip received $7477 and Laura agreed to receive an additional $47k

According to the prosecution, Noble received more than $750k throughout a 13-year period that concluded in 2018.

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Noble had been given a "direct payment care package," which gives persons with disabilities—or their loved ones and friends—the freedom to select caregivers, equipment, and bill-paying options.

When Noble claimed to be bedridden, her daughter was spotted pushing her around the Bluewater Shopping Center in a wheelchair.

Noble, who had previously stated that she had been on a liquid diet, was also captured on camera dining in a restaurant with her kid.

A care provider visited her house on another occasion and discovered her standing up, naked, and washing her hair in the bathroom.

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Laura was imprisoned for three years and nine months, Noble for four years and nine months, and Philip for four years and three months.

Even though the funds were sent into a single bank account created specifically to pay carers directly, Mr. Johnson claimed that less than $120k was spent on care.

The prosecutor said: “Funds that were paid to her were funds that would have been used to support the residents of Hertfordshire.”

Noble had “dishonestly and deliberately” lied to social workers.

Mr. Johnson said: “The central lie was the suggestion that she was bed-bound for a very significant period.”

“But it is quite plain, she was simply not bed-bound. She misled the local council and many others, including her treating doctor.”

“She claimed a variety of people were carers when they did nothing. She sent several emails to carers. Those emails had nothing to do with them (the carers) they were fake emails.”

“She spun a web of lies to everyone she came into contact with.”

A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: "Mrs. Noble, her daughter, and her son-in-law undertook a sophisticated and devious fraud that shamelessly sought to deceive health and social services professionals over a sustained period.”

“The trio's offenses were planned, calculated, and carried out to abuse a care system designed first and foremost to meet the requirements of those in need of support.”