A bogus lifestyle guru who stole £15,000 (N615 million) from Nigeria’s and former Stoke City frontman, Osaze Odemwingie, has been jailed for three years and eight months.
Claire Liddle swindled striker Odemwingie out of the cash after he handed over his bank details to organise his Miami honeymoon in 2012.
The 41-year-old also conned other wealthy clients, including Liverpool defender, Andre Wisdom, and former Celtic boss, Tony Mowbray, by offering to organise their luxury holidays.
She was originally spared jail after admitting the £82,000 scam in 2014, but went on to steal another £22,000 from the chairman of telecommunications giant, Lebara, and £33,000 from the boss of sales solutions firm, Flixmedia.
Liddle “frittered away| the money on presents for herself, including alcohol and a Rolex watch, the Old Bailey heard.
She wept as she was sentenced to 12 months for the first fraud on the footballers and 16 months consecutive on each of the other two scams, making a total of 44 months.
Judge Johannah Cutts QC told her: “I regard your offending as showing a reckless disregard for your family and yourself as well as those from whom you stole. It appears the money was frittered away.
“The fact remains you have stolen large sums of money from an employer and a former employer in breach of a suspended sentence. It cannot have been made clearer to you that offences of dishonesty attract terms of imprisonment.
“There has to be a sentence of immediate imprisonment. I very much hope you don’t appear in crown court again.”
The court heard Liddle gave presentations at football clubs by pretending to be working for Solutions Lifestyle.
Prosecutor Michael Morris told the court: “Although she wasn’t employed by them she used their name and passed herself off as being from Solutions Lifestyle to offer luxury holidays at discounts.
“She arranged to attend Premiership football clubs to provide presentations.”
She also stole at least £7,500 from Liverpool defender Andre Wisdom, currently out on loan to Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg.