// BBC UK NEWS — CRONACA
'Heartless' scammer vowed to repay victims but still hasn't a year on
Charlotte Blackwell told police she invented the wedding to pay off online gambling debts
Victims of a "heartless" fraudster, who faked her own wedding to con relatives and friends out of more than £12,000, are questioning why they have only received a fraction of what she was ordered to pay back.
Charlotte Blackwell, 32, from Bridgend, was handed a suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay £13,750 in compensation to the four victims by a judge in March 2025.
When she realised she would be avoiding jail Blackwell sobbed in relief and agreed to the judge's demand that she pay at a rate of £400 a month.
But her victims say she has only paid a total of £163.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) said it could not give specific details on enforcement but added: "These were heartless crimes."
In October 2025, the victims had only received £25.45 each since the order was imposed seven months earlier.
Since that time Blackwell, a mother of two, has paid an additional £15.30 to each of the victims - with no payments made in the last four months.
When the victims asked for updates from the MoJ they said they were told: "It's being dealt with."
"We've sort of given up because there's nowhere for us to turn. It feels like she's being protected rather than the victims."