Fraudulent Earith wedding planner jailed after taking £80,000 from her customers to fund gambling addiction

An Earith wedding planner who took £80,000 from 19 different couples to fund her gambling habit has been jailed for two years.

Lisa Harrison, of Adelaide Walk, pleaded guilty to offences of fraudulent trading under section nine of the Fraud Act 2006.

The investigation, led by Huntingdonshire’s serious crime team, began with Harrison’s arrest on December 18, 2013 and concluded on November 11, with her sentencing.

Harrison, who suffered with a gambling addiction in 2012, began taking money in the summer of 2013 and used inducements of low currency rates on US dollars and flight upgrades to secure further payments from her victims, to the sum of £80,107.35.

The 34 year-old went on a gambling spree spending £77,933 on online gambling sites including Paddy Power and William Hill, after eventually coming clean to her customers, via email, telling them that she was closing the business due to gambling away all of the money.

Detective sergeant Iain Moor said: “This was an extremely distressing case for the 19 couples who lost life savings and had their dream day ruined by Harrison.

“I hope the victims received some comfort in the prison sentence imposed on Harrison, meaning they can now start to re-build their lives.”

Were you one of the people affected? Call reporter Lauren Nash on 01480 443448 or email lauren.nash@archant.co.uk.