A Wanborough woman who treated her great aunt’s bank account as her “own piggy bank” has lost a bid to challenge her conviction and sentence.

Stephanie Colasanti was jailed for six years in 2019 after a jury at Swindon Crown Court found her guilty of fraud a year earlier.

Now, the 33-year-old has been refused leave to appeal her conviction, sentence and a confiscation order.

The Court of Appeal confirmed that a single judge had refused leave to appeal last October. Permission to appeal a crown court case must be given before the matter can be heard by appeal court justices in London.

She used the 84-year-old’s bank account "as her own piggy bank" after the relative had inherited almost £500,000.

In 2019, Swindon Crown Court heard Colasanti had enjoyed a life of luxury with expensive foreign holidays, shopping sprees, leasing a nice car and funding her drug use, despite have taken voluntary redundancy.

Colasanti, of Warneage Green, Wanborough, pleaded not guilty but was convicted of two counts of fraud following a trial in 2018.

The jury was told how after Colasanti’s victim had come into £473,000 she showered gifts on her great niece, even giving her a share in a flat. But unknown to her partially-deaf great aunt the defendant started to use her telephone banking to fund her lifestyle.

She claimed she was spending huge sums renovating the flat and on Open University fees when in reality she was keeping the cash for herself.

When the octogenarian found her bank accounts had been cleaned out she initially thought she had been the victim of an online fraud.

But when the finger pointed at Colasanti the defendant tried to persuade the doting aunt she was mistaken by playing on her emotions.

In her defence Colasanti, who represented herself after sacking two lots of solicitors, said she was not guilty and sought to appeal.

She said she had suffered mental health problems and had issues in the past but had not done anything dishonest. All of her holidays were paid out of her wages, she said, as she worked hard in a 50-hours a week position.

Sentencing Colasanti to six years’ imprisonment in 2019, Judge Jason Taylor QC ruled that in 2015 she received £74,000, just over £144,000 a year later and just over £2,500 in 2017.

He said: “Not all of that was fraudulent. I am satisfied to the criminal standard at least £175,000 was. I am also satisfied the reason the fraud stopped was the money ran out.

“I do not consider that you are genuinely remorseful. It is noteworthy that the experienced probation officer has reached the same conclusion.

“I consider you manipulative, self-centred, and somebody who has no regard for anybody but yourself.

“You are motivated solely by greed.”