Judge approves extradition to UK for Bangor native who claimed to be an Irish heiress

By Marie Weidmayer, Bangor Daily News Staff

A Bangor-born woman who allegedly scammed people in multiple states and countries can be extradited to the United Kingdom, a federal judge ruled.

There is sufficient evidence that Marianne Smyth, 54, committed fraud for her to be extradited to the UK to face the charges, federal Judge John Nivison said in an opinion May 9.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will make the final decision if Smyth will be extradited, according to federal law. He must consider the issues raised in court, as well as any humanitarian issues.

If Blinken decides to allow Smyth’s extradition, the UK will be notified by the U.S. Department of Justice Office of International Affairs and her transfer overseas will be arranged, according to the department.

Smyth is charged with four counts of fraud and four counts of theft for allegedly stealing the money from clients as an independent mortgage advisor in Northern Ireland between 2008 and 2010. She allegedly stole around $172,000.
She was the subject of a true crime podcast, “Queen of the Con,” created by Johnathan Walton, a reality television producer in Los Angeles, who said Smyth swindled him out of nearly $100,000 after telling him she was an Irish heiress.

She was previously convicted of grand theft in California in 2016 and again in 2019 for defrauding Walton. Smyth was released from jail in December 2020, and in early 2021 she returned to her home state.

The United Kingdom requested Smyth’s extradition in October, after a warrant was first issued for her arrest in 2021. She was arrested in Bingham in February.

Smyth was in the Piscataquis County Jail in Dover-Foxcroft. She will be transferred to custody of the U.S. Marshal Service while waiting for Blinken’s decision, per the court order.