Samantha Cook: 'I used to be afraid that congeep would kidnap my youngster'

A serial Con-artist, who launched as a pediatrician and excluded the households from the cash for a faux journey, which individuals panicked, mentioned one of many victims of the individuals.

Samantha Cook used a number of identities – together with a grandmother, an artwork instructor and a surrogate mom – between 2011 and 2024 to thieves households within the UK and Ireland.

For years, he has been convicted of a number of crimes and was sentenced to a few years in jail for social welfare fraud in 2025.

Now her victims have described a brand new documentary about their ordinance with the serial scammer by the BBC and RTA, which additionally included a mom, who was so involved about her nine-year security that she slept with a hacket subsequent to her mattress.

Dublin feminine Lynn McDonald instructed the filmmakers that Cook, who was born in Glustershire, England, developed a bond of religion along with her daughter Ellie after assembly in 2016.

But that bond confirmed him and others that he was a rip-off artist.

Cook, now 36, later ran away, left Lynn fearful “he will come back in the middle of the night and take my child”.

Lynn first met Kukus, which she knew as Lucy Fitzvilleums in 2016.

She was launched to a scammer by a good friend when she was experiencing a troublesome time and wanted extra help.

Lynn's youthful daughter, Daisy, was born in 2013 Straight syndrome, A uncommon genetic dysfunction that impacts the event of the mind, leading to extreme psychological and bodily incapacity.

As a toddler therapist, within the guise of her, Ellie, Lynn's elder daughter, got here to cook dinner twice every week for a time.

Lynn mentioned, “There was definitely a bond of faith. Ellie was relying on her with her secrets and her concerns.”

“I don't think anyone, when they meet him, knew what is really under that skin.”

Another mom of Dublin, Hillary Gale, who was dishonest on cooking, mentioned: “She gets your weak point and your weak points are always going to be your baby.”

She mentioned she was “desperate” to assist along with her son Rhys, who had autism, and “to turn elsewhere”.

Cook earned a belief of households, demanded donations to ladies's shelter and picked up funds for a faux Lapland go to.

Lynn paid a deposit of £ 400 for cooking.

However, his habits across the journey was starting to extend doubt.

“each one [of us] Hillary said that other people were included, and each of us who had included other people had to collect money.

“We began Googling what number of seats have been on the airplane, however with its voice and the quantity of the individuals we have been concerned, we offered at the very least 5 airplanes personally.”

Finally, women came to know that there was no Lapland visit and no female shelter – although they had given food, clothes and money food.

When the cooking realized that the families knew that she was a scammer, she ran away.

Hillary said that the family “lived in worry for a really very long time”, while Lynn recalled that Cook had asked him to sign a consent form for a visit to Lapland.

He did not sign it, but the form, which would have allowed Ellie to be taken abroad without Lynn, raised his fear that the scammer could try to kidnap his daughter.

“When you discover out that Lapland isn’t taking place … You query: 'Why did she wish to take my youngster overseas?” “Lynn mentioned.

He mentioned that when he ran away from the kitchen, he scared him as a result of nobody knew the place he was.

He mentioned, “We had a police orbiting police, our house was on a red alert, I was installed cameras around my house,” he mentioned.

The BBC put all of the allegations for cooking, however didn’t reply.

The story of Kukas started additional when it appeared in Tikokok, often known as Carrie Z Williams in 2022, allegedly giving an account of residing with degenerative Huntington illness.

He obtained help and even monetary help together with welfare funds from the Irish state.

When one in all her posts went viral, some social media Sleiths discovered that Carrie Z was not her actual identification and she or he was lowering her sickness.

In Britain and Ireland, ladies affected by their scams based a WhatsApp group, which was scammed by Samantha.

“We have stopped talking about him and now we talk about ourselves,” Hillary mentioned.

Bad Nani can be accessible on BBC iPlayer from Monday 12 May and the primary episode will air on BBC One Northern Ireland on Wednesday, May 14, 22:40.