I was astonished when we were left £200k in inheritance by a woman I’d never met, but that’s when the nightmare began
Alex said: “No one close to Maureen had ever heard of Leigh.
“We had to pause the work on our home and couldn’t use our own savings in case we had to pay back the inheritance we’d already used.
“We’d already spent £60,000 on the deposit and renovations.
“It was all consuming – and no matter how hard we tried, we’d always end up talking about the case.
“We were pretty confident that we would win, because it was such a ridiculous lie.
“But then doubt would creep in, and sometimes the anxiety got the better of me, and I was terrified that we’d lose our home.”
In order to prove that Leigh was lying, the family paid for forensic will analysts to prove that the new will was forged, as well as private doctors to prove that even if the will was legit, Maureen was not of sound mind if she had signed it.
All three fraudsters changed their pleas to guilty a week into their criminal trial at St Albans Crown Court in October 2024.
At the sentencing, Amber Collingwood was sentenced to three years and six months and Ben Mayes received two years six months, both for forgery.
It was such a relief to have justice, but I do have mixed emotions
Alex Renny
As well as receiving six-and-a-half years for fraud and forgery, Leigh Voysey – who has a young daughter – was slapped with almost £200,000 of legal fees.
Despite the “huge relief” after finally getting justice, Alex admitted she “felt sorry” for the fraudster.
She says: “It was such a relief to have justice, but I do have mixed emotions.
“Leigh has a young daughter, and I can’t imagine how hard it must be to have her mum in prison.
“It just all feels so pointless.”
Alex and Tom now want to put their energy into getting the law changed to prevent others being scammed through false will claims.
Alex said: “Tom kept a diary throughout the process, and we’ve decided to turn it into a book called ‘Inheritance Hell’ .
“The book details everything we’ve been through, and we hope it will raise awareness of inheritance scams and act as a warning to others.
“Since publishing the book, we’ve had members of the public contact us to say they’re going through similar things and reading the book makes things clearer and gives them hope.
“We hope that something positive can come out of this terrible experience and that the laws can be examined regarding homemade wills, the judicial process and probate.
“Now all we can do is try to re-build our lives and put our energy into getting the law changed to prevent others from being scammed through false will claims.”
You can purchase the book here