Louise Handley was accused by parents of conning them out of money (Picture: MailOnline)
A woman allegedly conned parents and guardians of hundreds of pounds by posing as a Zoom tutor for children.
Louise Handley, 50, from Derby, has been accused of pocketing money from families in the UK, US and Canada.
Described as a ‘scumbag’ by parents to the MailOnline, they claimed Handley would cancel sessions for a laundry bag of reasons, from her teenage son being ill to claiming she has bladder cancer.
When approached by the publication for comment, Handley denied all wrongdoing in the face of the ‘false’ allegations.
Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, confirmed to MailOnline it had received a report in connection to Handley last month.
During lessons, families said Handley would casually chat to the children most of the time rather than teach them.
Handley denied all wrongdoing (Picture: MailOnline)
Among the parents was Harriet Gore, 49, from Preston.
She and Ella, her 17-year-old daughter with learning difficulties, claim Handley conned them over the summer.
The high school inclusion manager paid Handley, she alleged, £435 to tutor Ella and an additional £95 for books related to the course.
‘Louise made you feel completely at ease. You have got that trust straight away with her,’ she said.
But after paying £100 for the first session, ‘that’s when the messages started asking for more money’, she said, adding: ‘I paid an extra £100 so she didn’t lose her place.’
Harriet said that, in the end, the books for Ella’s course never arrived and Handley only taught eight out of the 16 arranged lessons.
Handley, according to one parent, approached families on Facebook offering her tutoring services in subjects such as psychology, maths and science (Picture: MailOnline)
Message exchanges seen by MailOnline appeared to show Handley cancelling sessions across the two months or changing the times for reasons such as a medical emergency for her son or having coronavirus.
Handley would, at times Harriet alleged, claim she has cancer meaning she couldn’t refund the parent for any cancelled sessions.
She added: ‘I can’t believe I didn’t see the signs. You can’t believe someone would do that to you.’
Samantha Thomas, 41, from Derbyshire, alleged Handley approached her on Facebook after she posted on the platform about wanting a GCSE tutor for her daughter.
Across Facebook, according to screenshots, Handley posted on groups selling her tutoring services by pitching herself as a teacher with ’28 years’ of experience.
She also said she has an ‘enhanced DBS’, a Disclosure and Barring Service check for people who work with children which combs people’s criminal record.
Handley ‘pressured’ Harriet into making more appointments after signing her up, with Samantha saying she only got her money back after contacting her bank and Derbyshire Police.
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Other parents told MailOnline how they had paid Handley hundreds of pounds in 2016 and 2017 for tutor sessions, with many being booked in advance even after just a single appointment had been done.
Fraud is all too common in the UK, according to the Public Accounts Committee in March, with the act accounting for 41% of all crimes committed in England and Wales.
But of the around 900,000 frauds reported each year – amounting to a cost to individuals of £4,700,000,000 – less than 1% result in a conviction.
Handley told MailOnline: ‘I have been teaching for 28 years. I do have cancer. Do you want to see that I have cancer? That I am vulnerable.
‘I will send you a copy of a medical report that shows I have bladder cancer. You cannot hound people who are fighting the fight of their lives.
‘This has distressed me a lot. I just want to be left alone to concentrate on my health.
‘This is a disgrace. I am not well. Cancer is a protected characteristic.
‘I would advise you to contact the urology department to talk to them. Hounding people with cancer is not acceptable. I feel very distressed, my mental health is not good.
‘Make sure you include the bladder cancer. I have cancer, trying to get well again. Publishing a protected characteristic is not permitted.
‘I have cancer, any documents in my possession are genuine, therefore you will be printing inaccurate information.’
MailOnline said that Handley did not send the outlet a copy of her medical records.
Derbyshire Police declined to comment on Handley, according to MailOnline.
It said: ‘The force takes reports seriously and will conduct a proportionate and thorough investigation. Should there be an outcome where an investigation is filed without further action being taken then this will be communicated with the victim.’
The College of Policing, which covers England and Wales, said: ‘We wouldn’t be able to comment on individual investigations that would be a question for the forces.’
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‘You can’t believe someone would do that to you.’