"Feckless, heartless greed: "Sheffield women involved in £23k email fraud scheme

“You exhibited feckless heartless greed.”

These were the words of the judge to two Sheffield women who involved themselves in an email fraud scheme which conned a woman out of almost £23,000.

Judge Peter Hampton said the words as he sentenced cousins Cheyenne Palmer and Rae-hann Lewis for their role in the con during a hearing held on Thursday (April 23, 2026).

The defendants admitted having limited involvement in the fraud, but Sheffield Crown Court heard how those at the centre of it have never been identified - or brought to justice.

The victim preyed upon as part of the fraud scheme had hired legitimate contractors to do work costing several thousand pounds at her home.

The scheme was put into action when it became time to pay the contractors.

Sheffield Crown Court heard how fraudsters contacted the victim using an email address that was only one digit different to that of the contractors, and requested the money be paid into a different account, one belonging to Lewis.

Judge Hampton said: “There’s been hacking from somewhere; either the contractor or from the bank.

“The fraudster changes a character in the email address, sends it to [the victim] so she’s in contact with them when they send the money to Ms Lewis’ account so the money’s diverted to them.”

Richard Davies, prosecuting, said the fraud was exposed a short time later, after the contractors contacted the victim to ask when she would be making the payment she had promised.

“Police were able to follow the money to the account of Rae-hann Lewis,” he said.

He added that police determined the “fraud money” was “quickly emptied” from Lewis’ account.

Some of it was spent on a holiday costing around £3,700 along with a number of electronic devices, while a proportion of it was used to pay off Lewis’ overdraft.

Police arrested Lewis a short time later, and seized her phone as part of the investigation.

Mr Davies said officers found a number of messages relating to the fraud, including one between the two defendants in which they discussed needing to get hold of the “fraud money.”

In other messages sent by Palmer, she tells Lewis that the “guys” will need to use her card to withdraw money, to which Lewis responds by saying that one of the individuals involved told her they will need to keep hold of her card for around a fortnight.

Mr Davies said one exchange between Lewis and a fraudster higher up in the chain shows him becoming “agitated” about not being able to withdraw money after her bank account was frozen.

Judge Hampton said that whilst the fraud was a “sophisticated” one, the defendants’ involvement in it was not.

In a statement to the court, the victim revealed the “stress and strain” she has endured as a result of the scam, due to the money she has had to borrow to pay back what was taken.

She said she has had to take on extra work to assist her in efforts to pay back what she owes, and suffers from nightmares as a consequence of the “tough” ordeal.

“I want the perpetrators to be punished,” the victim said, reflecting on the impact their actions have had on her life.

The court heard how excessive delays in the case have meant it has now taken more than eight years for the case to reach court.

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Judge Hampton said he noted that both defendants were in their mid-20s when they committed the offences, and the significant efforts both women have made to turn their lives around in the years since.

He said of their actions around the time of the fraud in February and March 2018, however: “At the time, you exhibited feckless heartless greed.”

“You behaved irresponsibly in a heartless way with little thought to the victims of such fraud.”

Lewis and Palmer, aged 33 and 34 respectively, initially denied involvement in the scheme, but both subsequently entered guilty pleas to offences relating to money laundering.

Lewis, of Whirlowdale Road, Whirlow, Sheffield, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to conceal/disguise/convert/transfer/remove criminal property at an earlier hearing.

Palmer, of Sevenairs Road, Crystal Peaks, Sheffield admitted one count of entering into/ being concerned in acquisition/retention/use or control of criminal property at an earlier hearing.

Representing Lewis, Dermot Hughes told the hearing: “She’s the first one to admit responsibility. Others walked away no doubt laughing up their sleeve… the real culprits are not in the dock.”

Mr Hughes said Lewis has worked to undergo a “self-financed” rehabilitation in the eight years it has taken for the case to reach court.

“It’s exceptional, truly exceptional,” Mr Hughes said.

Both he and Judge Hampton remarked on how Lewis has turned her life around, with Judge Hampton commenting that Lewis is an “impressive character” who now contributes to society.

“She was - despite those messages - someone who was ripe for exploitation and is now a very different person.”

He suggested that the unidentified fraudsters chose to put the holiday paid for with the “fraud money” in Lewis’ name, but she did not go on it or benefit from it.

“She’s had little or nothing out of it,” he said.

Mr Hughes acknowledged the likelihood of the case being reported on, and suggested it is a “measure” of who Lewis is that she is concerned with how publication of the case with affect others.

Defending Palmer, Pam Coxon, told the court that Palmer became involved in the con through her romantic relationship at the time, with her first ever boyfriend with whom she became involved when she was still just a teenager.

“It’s only since she’s out of it that she’s reflected on how toxic it was,” Ms Coxon said.

She told the court that Palmer did have aspirations of having a career in banking, but after realising that would not be possible due to her involvement in the fraud, she has set up her own cleaning business.

Ms Coxon continued: “She too has turned her life around.”

Passing sentence, Judge Hampton told Lewis and Palmer that had he been sentencing them around the time of the fraud, he would have sentenced them to “some form of imprisonment.”

“You’ve both travelled a path to redemption and of that you should both be proud,” he said.

Judge Hampton sentenced both women to a 12-month conditional discharge, and ordered them each to pay £1,000 in compensation.

He said of the other fraudsters involved in the scheme: “The fraudsters at the heart of this have never been identified…their time will come.”