Pamela Gwinnett, a 63-year-old identified as a "black widow" fraudster, has been arrested in Tenerife and is slated for extradition back to Britain to face justice. Gwinnett was convicted in October 2025 and sentenced in her absence to six years in prison for theft and fraud by abuse of position.
She is accused of conning 89-year-old Joan Green, from Chorley, Lancashire, out of £300,000. Gwinnett had become Mrs. Green's carer and allegedly controlled her finances, isolating her from her family. Preston Crown Court heard that Mrs. Green's life savings were plundered by Gwinnett, who used the funds to support an extravagant lifestyle, including purchasing a car worth £22,500 and undergoing cosmetic treatments.
Gwinnett fled to Tenerife in April 2025 while on bail and awaiting trial. She reportedly left for the Spanish island just hours after a court denied her request to vary bail conditions, which she had claimed was to scatter her brother's ashes.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed Gwinnett's arrest, noting the assistance of the National Crime Agency and Spanish authorities. Lead investigator Pc Georgia Loughton expressed hope that Gwinnett's return will provide a sense of justice for Mrs. Green's family.
Earlier this year, a Sky News crew reportedly confronted Gwinnett outside her apartment in Tenerife, where she denied the allegations. Mrs. Green died in November 2022.
During sentencing, Judge Michael Maher described Gwinnett's actions as having a "self-assured shamelessness" and stated that Mrs. Green was treated as a "cash cow." The judge also expressed his hope for Gwinnett's extradition, calling her continued presence in Tenerife an "affront to justice and the rule of law."