Tagging order for woman in £35,000 Hollywood scam

A woman who conned her family in a £35,000 Hollywood acting scam has been given a tagging order for 10 months.

Ann Dunlop, 69, claimed her daughter Heather Dunlop, 40, was being lined up for million-pound contracts and mingling with celebrities such as Leonardo Di Caprio and Beyonce.

Dunlop convinced her brother David Bunton to give her daughter cash to help her make her movie breakthrough.

She was found guilty last year of defrauding her family of a total of £35,368 at Glasgow Sheriff Court, while Heather Dunlop was jailed last week for eight months after she pled guilty to a similar charge.

Ann Dunlop also asked her sister Jean Allan and her husband Steven Allan pay her and Heather’s gas and council tax bills as she did not have enough money.

During the trial, the court heard that Heather Dunlop - who used the name Heather Cameron - appeared in a non-speaking role in a BBC period drama and a TV show staring comedian Noel Fielding.

David Bunton - a chief executive of a life science company - was approached by Ann and Heather Dunlop in March 2016 after he sold his business.

He handed over £5,000 to the pair, formerly of Port Glasgow, Inverclyde, in order for the actress to "build her career."

Mr Bunton told the court that he was informed by Ann Dunlop that Heather Dunlop was being represented in Hollywood and that there was talk of her meeting Beyonce and Jay Z and making movies with Quentin Tarantino and Michael Keaton.

The family were also told that Heather Dunlop was set to star in a movie version of the musical Wicked directed by Tim Burton and that she was working with fashion house Chanel.

Mr Bunton handed over a further £27,000 to the pair as he heard that Ann Dunlop - and her husband who also lived with them - were "struggling".

He also paid for their council tax and gas but was promised repayment.

He was not paid back and his suspicions rose after Heather Dunlop failed to appear in a Chanel Christmas advert in 2016.

He then hired a private investigator who looked into the claims and confirmed there was little basis to them.

Ann Dunlop's brother-in-law Steven Allan, 67, claimed he was under the impression Ann and Heather Dunlop were living a lavish lifestyle in London.

Last week’s hearing was told 10% of the cash had been paid back to the victims.

Sheriff Vincent Lunny put Ann Dunlop on a restriction of liberty order and said that he would take a step back "only just" from a custodial sentence.

The sheriff told the hearing that Dunlop, of Margate, Kent, should find a Scottish address to be given a tag or she could be jailed like her daughter.

Dunlop’s lawyer Neil Stewart said she would stay with her mother. He said she had caused "significant" stress to her family.