Fraudster film producer, 56, who stole more than £159,000 from her victims by claiming links to Denzel Washington, Dalai Lama and Princess Anne is jailed for three years

An international film fraudster who scammed her victims out of £159,000 by claiming she had links to Denzel Washington, the Dalai Lama and Princess Anne has been jailed for three years. 

Lois Bhagwan, 56, convinced unwitting victims to invest in a dodgy humanitarian initiative called the Lionheart Project which she launched in 1992. 

She would then take out the invested money in cash and spend it on a luxurious lifestyle travelling the world meeting diplomats.  

Bhagwan hired a swanky Range Rover, a cottage in the Cotswolds in Milton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire, and splashing out on trips around the world staying at exclusive hotels.

She pretended that she was friends with international sports stars, presidents and claimed she had fired a movie star. 

Fijian-born film producer Bhagwan's Lionheart Project was touted as a way of connecting people around the world to solve issues facing communities across the globe.

Lois Bhagwan , 56, convinced unwitting victims to invest in a dodgy humanitarian initiative called the Lionheart Project which she launched in 1992

The scheme, which was launched at an event in the St Regis Hotel, Washington DC, in 2001 attended by former Amnesty International director Jack Healey, had its origins in the early 1990s.

The defendant hoped to create a film and associated TV series focusing on different communities around the world with people she branded 'Lionhearts'.

Over time the ambition grew, with a worldwide network of 'Lionhearts' and plans for a global launch of the film together with interactive 'experiences' capable of connecting people virtually around the world.

Bhagwan set her sights high. In the early 1990s, she approached former international cricketer Imran Khan, now prime minister of Pakistan, who was then raising money for a hospital in Lahore. 

Bhagwan claimed to have the contact details of the Dalai Lama  

She also falsely used Hillary Clinton's name when trying to deceive her victims

She claimed to be funding the Lionheart Project out of her own royalty income from films she'd produced and, later, through a multi-million pound high-interest fund.

Her victims - some of whom later set up a 'defamatory' website naming Ms Bhagwan and exposing the fraud - were told that their money would be placed with this fund, which during her trial she said had been registered in South Korea.

In total, her victims lost almost £160,000 and only about £10,000 has ever been returned.

They included the ex-captain of the Fijian national rugby team, who lost almost £2,000 to the fraud.

Former Saracens star Mosese Raulini, 46, told the jury he was looking for investments as he neared retirement. 

She falsely claimed to have links to the likes of Princess Anne and several other celebrities

Victim Wanda Arnold, who was persuaded into handing over £25,000 for two shares in the Lionheart Project plus a further £5,000 for a 'short-term' loan, described being in awe of the woman.

'I thought she was a very nice lady, very enthusiastic. You got swept along with her. She was vivacious, she was very well connected and there were times I felt in awe of her,' the Worcestershire woman told jurors.

'She said she knew people like Condoleeza Rice, who was the Secretary of State at the time, the High Commissioner of here, the High Commissioner of there.' 

The con artist spoke to her about the Lionheart project and explained there were opportunities for the Arnolds, who ran a water treatment company.

Within six months she had persuaded them to buy two shares in the project, paying £12,500 for each share, promising high returns and no risk to the original capital.

Paperwork sent in 2008 and 2009 suggested they had made more than £8,300 in interest.

She also claimed to have worked with Denzel Washington and other Hollywood A-listers

In emails read to the jury, Bhagwan described herself as the Arnold's 'sister', addressed them as 'bro' and 'sis' and spoke of a special bond.

In March 2010, she sent an urgent plea to Mrs Arnold asking for her help to raise £30,000 for a short-term loan. The victim eventually handed over £5,000 - trying to hide the payment from her husband, by then suspicious. Bhagwan promised to return the cash with £500 interest.

By 2011, Bhagwan was no longer responding to calls or emails. The couple, who had not received any money, hired a private investigator to try and track the woman down. She did eventually get in contact, claiming to have been ill and promising to arrange payment.

The couple has still not been reimbursed by Bhagwan.

Today the scammer was jailed for three years and four months at Oxford Crown Court for her crimes, whose victims were in both the UK and Fiji

Other victims included Bhagwan's former neighbours in the Cotswolds, the manager of a Highlands estate where she holidayed and an oil man she'd met in Egypt.   

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'She also advised them that the project had substantial offshore funds that would be used to lend to governments at high-interest rates in order to generate revenue and profit.

'The victim's investments were supposed to be secured against this fund, which she claimed amounted to $450million held in the British Virgin Islands but Bhagwan later admitted never the fund had never actually existed.

'She also convinced the victims to invest by portraying she had great wealth and a lavish lifestyle, claiming she owned a house in London, which was actually rented and also claiming to own a boat and a farm in New Zealand.' 

The spokesman added: 'However by December 2010 her victims across the UK started to think all was not what it seemed with Bhagwan and they started to wonder where their returns from the thousands of pounds they invested had gone.

'Bhagwan however quickly moved to France at short notice, leaving boxes of her possessions behind and largely severing contact with victims. In 2011 reports were made to the UK police.'

Bhagwan was convicted of six counts of fraud, including five counts of fraud by false representation and one count of obtaining money by deception. She was acquitted of three other counts of fraud.

Today the scammer was jailed for three years and four months for her crimes, whose victims were in both the UK and Fiji.

Senior Investigating Officer Detective Inspector Duncan Wynn, of Thames Valley Police's Economic Crime Unit, said: 'Lois Bhagwan deliberately and callously set out to befriend and deceive the victims in this case.

'She went to extraordinary lengths to gain their trust and confidence with the view to persuading them to hand over their money to her.

'The Lionheart Project was a little more than a concept in her own mind and while she did meet with various foreign diplomats and governments, she never had anything tangible to show for her efforts, nor did she have any reasonable prospect of generating revenue to repay her victims.

'It was telling that very few victims in this case were able to clearly describe what the Lionheart Project actually did and how it would generate any profit. The fact was that they believed they were investing in someone they trusted, a friend and a competent businesswoman.

'The web of lies she created to further her own ends and support her lifestyle at the expense of her victims was quite incredible. We are delighted today that she has been held to account for her actions and that the victims now hopefully have some closure on this matter.'