A wife fleeced her husband and ­family out of £250,000 by lying about having terminal brain cancer.

Jasmin Mistry, 36, said she needed money for treatment in the US but spent it on luxury goods like handbags.

She kept up the lie for nearly four years, a court was told.

Her devastated husband said he would “never recover” from her deceit.

Mistry conned family and friends out of the quarter of a million pounds by claiming she was terminally ill and in need of proton beam treatment in the US.

She fleeced 30 people, including her husband Vijay Katechia, 40.

Mistry was only caught when Mr Katechia showed a “scan” his wife had given him to a doctor friend, who said it had been lifted from Google.

She has been handed a four-year prison sentence after admitting fraud by false representation.

She kept up the lie for nearly four years and fleeced 30 people, including her husband Vijay Katechia, 40 (
Image:
Tim Anderson)

Reading his victim impact ­statement in court, Mr Katechia struggled to contain his emotions as he said: “This has totally ruined my faith in humanity.

"Psychologically and emotionally, it’s something I will never recover from.”

He added: “She’s a real risk to the public and I would not wish for any individual to suffer what we have.”

Mistry, who still has a Stand Up To Cancer logo on a Facebook photo, had met Mr Katechia on an Indian dating website in 2012 and they were married within six months.

It was during their honeymoon that the medical secretary from Leicester first pretended to be suffering from severe headaches. She later went on to claim doctors had found a cancerous tumour in her spine.

Using an online account, Mistry sent her husband messages from a fictitious doctor called Nita Lakar.

Jasmin Mistry, 36, conned family and friends out of £250,000 by claiming she was terminally ill and in need of proton beam treatment in the US

She later claimed she had gone into remission, only to break the horrifying news that she had terminal brain cancer, Snaresbrook crown court in North-East London was told.

Prosecutor James Benson said: “She displayed to her husband the apparent symptoms – trips to the toilet to vomit, describing blood in her stools, requiring help walking up and down stairs.

"The defendant has plainly done some research.”

Mr Katechia’s relatives were also victims of the “pathological liar”

Mr Katechia’s relatives were also victims of the “pathological liar”.

His mother Pushpa gave Mistry £32,000 after inviting her to the family home in Ilford, East London. She told the court it would “haunt me for the rest of my life”.

A sister-in-law handed over a £4,700 Omega watch, which was pawned. Mistry also posed as single on dating apps to lure two men.

One gave her £66,000, believing her cancer con after she got him to pick her up from a hospital while wearing a medical wristband.

After pocketing the cash, she sent him a message from a fake persona claiming she had died.

Summarising that victim’s statement, Mr Benson said: “He says he was deeply in love with the defendant and being told she was alive after being told she had died came as a ‘total shock’.”

Mistry’s lies unravelled in November 2017, when former stocks trader Mr Katechia showed her scan to a doctor

Mistry did not only lie about the cancer.

She falsely claimed she had received death threats from members of the Dubai royal family which were related to her previous employment.

Mr Benson added: “She claimed the family were at risk of kidnapping.

"She said she had been assigned a security team of ex MI5 officers.”

Mistry’s lies unravelled in November 2017, when former stocks trader Mr Katechia showed her scan to a doctor. Mr Benson said: “He was informed it was a stock image from Google.”

Mr Katechia then found further evidence he had been conned on her phone. They have since divorced.

The Met probe was led by Detective Constables Dal Riyat and Jon Bounds. They found she spent victims’ life savings on Prada and Chanel handbags.

Mistry remained impassive as she was handed a four-year jail sentence on Friday.

Judge Judith Hughes told her: “This is a terrible crime. To tell everybody you have cancer and take money from them... It’s an awful situation.”