A Peterhead woman has admitted conning a group of friends out of more than £7,000 by pretending to book flights and hotels to a dream wedding in Thailand.
Natalie Green took it upon herself to arrange travel and accommodation for her pals so their could attend best friend Elaine Walker’s nuptials in Asia – but it was all a lie.
The shameless fraudster only confessed to her cruel fraud TWO DAYS before the group were due to jet off, leaving the bride and guests devastated.
Some of Green’s victims, including Elaine, attended Peterhead Sheriff Court and saw their former friend admit fraudulently obtaining £7,547 from 18 people – the bulk of which related to travel and accommodation for five wedding guests in Thailand and further payments for a lodge in Banff.
‘Natalie ruined the whole memory of my wedding’
Elaine, from Peterhead, said Green’s crimes have forever tainted her memories of what should have been the happiest day of her life.
“Natalie ruined the whole memory of my wedding. I feel sick when I think about it,” she said.
“It’s the betrayal – I’ll never forgive her.”
Victim Chevonne Millar, who entrusted Green with £1,530, spoke outside court and said the fraudster had “no shame”.
“I don’t think she realises how much this has affected us all,” she said.
“It’s been very hard for us all to sit back and say nothing – all the while seeing her out living it up, effectively with our money.
“We maybe should have clicked that here was this student going out for meals four nights a week while we were all working overtime to help pay for the holiday.”
Green took the cash over 18 months between January 2021 and August 2022 – and even sent doctored images of flight bookings to back up her lies.
Another of Green’s victims was Lynsey Milne, who has since been re-paid £2,500.
She also attended court to see her former friend in the dock.
Lynsey said: “Two days before we were due to go Natalie confessed to another friend that she hadn’t booked anything.
“We were then told by that person. Natalie didn’t have the guts to tell us herself.
“I was reeling. At first, we looked at getting more flights but it was so expensive.
“We even tried to just scrape money together to let Elaine’s bridesmaid Ruth get there – but we didn’t have enough.”
Lynsey said in the end they had to break the devastating news to Elaine – and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
‘I still can’t believe someone would do this to their friends’
Elaine’s mum Trisha McPherson had just been diagnosed with cancer and had told her daughter she would not be able to travel for the August 2022 wedding as “it was treatment or travel”.
Elaine said: “I’d found out my mum wasn’t going to be there – and then this. It meant nobody from my side would be there at all.
“My dad had died so it’s just me and mum.”
In the end, Trisha had to use her own money so that the friends could get to the wedding.
Elaine said: “She used her savings to buy flights for my friends just so I wouldn’t be on my own. She spent £11,000 on more last-minute flights.”
Trisha says she can’t forgive Green for what she did to almost destroy her daughter’s big day.
She said: “I can’t look at any of the wedding photos without thinking about what she did – she ruined it.”
Elaine added: “We all trusted her – I still can’t believe someone would do this to their friends.”
Sheriff Christine McCrossan deferred sentencing for reports and ordered Green, whose address was given as Slains Court, Peterhead, to return to court next month.