The court heard how Worsley duped more than 45 victims into giving her £434,170 to fund large orders at her clothing business to supply shops.

All the victims were from the Zimbabwean community and were members of a faith group.

During January 2012 and March 2013 Worsley told her victims she did not want to lose the orders to competitors and would borrow money from people in the short term, claiming she would pay them back with 50 to 100 per cent interest.

On one occasion she convinced a victim to lend her £3,000. A receipt was e-mailed to the victim confirming she would get a return of £4,500 the following month and Worsley paid the money in full on the date.

But on another occasion £5,000 was given to Worsley on the agreement the victim would get £7,500 back in a few months’ time. A total of £2,500 was returned to the victim but the other £5,000 was never given back.

The victim handed over a further £2,500 to Worsley at the same time and that too was never returned.

Despite numerous attempts by the victim to contact Worsley she never returned her calls or gave any of the funds back.

Detective Constable Jane McHale, from GMP’s Fraud Investigation Team, said: “Worsley was cunning in the way she
would convince her victims to part with their money by exploiting their faith.

“She would trick them into a false sense of security by paying back the original payment with interest but the victims would never see any future payments returned.

“Some of the victims lost out on money they had spent months or even years saving for a special reason.

“She showed no remorse for her actions and her greed eventually got the better of her when officers uncovered the full extent of her crimes.

“An investigation under the Proceeds of Crime Act is currently underway to look into any assets Worsley may have
made through these crimes.

“I hope this sentence acts as a warning to others that crime does not pay and you will be caught.”