A mother fabricated a terminal cancer diagnosis to manipulate her affluent partner into funding her cosmetic surgeries. Laura McPherson, 35, deceived not only her boyfriend but also convinced her young daughter that she was gravely ill, maintaining the falsehood for five years.
Throughout her relationship with ex-partner Jon Leonard, he purchased extravagant gifts, including a £30,000 Rolex watch, under the belief that denying such luxuries to someone facing imminent death would be cruel. Leonard also provided £24,248, believing the money was for treatments related to cervical, ovarian, colon, bowel, and breast cancers. However, McPherson diverted these funds to indulge in a luxury holiday in Austria and to finance breast augmentation surgery in Manchester.
The deception began in 2017 when McPherson first told Leonard she had cervical cancer. At a hearing in Derby Crown Court on October 6, the judge ordered her to reimburse Leonard £30,714 by January 5. Leonard revealed to the court that he had received messages on social media from individuals claiming McPherson had a history of fabricating cancer diagnoses dating back many years. One message stated, “I went to school with Laura in the Highlands. She lied about having cancer there too. At least it’s finally caught up with her.” Another Instagram comment read, “I wish I had warned you when I saw you with her at Elvaston Castle. She had been claiming ovarian cancer since she was 16. Glad her two decades of lies are exposed.”
Leonard described how McPherson’s deceit cost him eight years of his life and left deep emotional wounds. He recounted instances where he received calls from McPherson’s daughter’s school, as the child was distressed, fearing her mother’s impending death. Believing McPherson’s claims, Leonard, who manages the Ultra Events platform raising millions for charity, even contacted a top private cancer specialist to arrange treatment for her, though she insisted on continuing with NHS care.
In 2020, McPherson claimed to have undergone a hysterectomy but was later seen climbing a mountain just two days afterward. That same year, she said she required a mastectomy but instead used the opportunity to have breast enlargement surgery, all funded by Leonard. On New Year’s Eve 2021, Leonard dropped her off for what she said was cervical treatment, but she instead took a taxi to Coventry for a night out.
McPherson, 36, from Duffield, Derbyshire, who has two children including a one-year-old with a subsequent partner, admitted to fraud charges. She received a two-year community order and a nightly curfew requiring her to stay indoors five nights a week.
Following the court’s compensation decision, Leonard issued a statement: “It’s finally over. Today marks the conclusion of eight and a half difficult years. She never had cancer, and it has now emerged that she has been fabricating cancer diagnoses since secondary school, long before I met her. She has been unmasked as a deceitful and manipulative person.”
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