Fraudster who escaped to Tenerife after scamming pensioner out of £300k arrested

A fraudster nicknamed the “Black Widow” is set to be returned to the UK to face justice following her arrest in Tenerife. Pamela Gwinnett positioned herself as the carer of retired accountant Joan Green in order to defraud her of her life savings.

Gwinnett, 63, swindled Mrs Green out of almost £300,000 throughout the Covid pandemic, which she subsequently splashed on Botox and extravagant dining. She did this while confining Mrs Green to her home in Chorley, Lancashire.

She convinced the 89-year-old to grant her Lasting Power of Attorney before plundering the pensioner’s funds.

Gwinnett fabricated false allegations against Mrs Green’s relatives and cut her off from others by replacing the locks and the landline telephone number at her gated bungalow.

Following years of being “milked like a cash cow” by Gwinnett, Mrs Green passed away in 2022.

Gwinnett embezzled a total of £296,173.68, which had been accumulated by Mrs Green and her late husband Stanley, a retired senior manager at British Aerospace.

She then escaped the country in April 2025 while awaiting trial for theft and fraud by abuse of position.

In April last year, she petitioned a judge to change her bail terms so she could go to Tenerife to scatter her brother’s ashes. The application was denied, but she ignored this and five days later boarded an aircraft to the Spanish Canary Islands.

She was found guilty in her absence and, in October last year, received a six-year prison term at Preston Crown Court. She was additionally ordered to repay £300,000 at a subsequent Proceeds of Crime Act hearing.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP), whose investigation resulted in her conviction, have now confirmed she has been detained on the island.

GMP said they had worked with the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Spanish authorities to locate Gwinnett and begin the process of her return to the UK. She will now face extradition in order to serve her sentence.

Investigating officer PC Georgia Loughton, from GMP, said: “I am pleased that Pamela Gwinnett will be returned to the UK where she will serve her sentence.

“Pamela knowingly defrauded a vulnerable woman out of almost £300,000, cutting off all contact with her family and controlling every aspect of her life.

“She was trusted by Joan, and she used this position of trust to her own financial gain. Joan was isolated from her family and denied from seeing her grandchildren and their children.

“Sadly, Joan passed away in 2022, however we hope that the return of Pamela to the UK to serve her sentence gives Joan’s family a sense of justice as they look to move on with their lives.”