A fraudster film producer faces jail after stealing more than £150K from victims across the world - by claiming links with Princess Anne, Hillary Clinton, Denzel Washington, Gordon Brown and the Dalai Lama.
Lois Bhagwan, 56, enticed her victims with promises of high returns, investing in her charitable project's high-interest fund.
But a tiny proportion - around £10,000 - of the money paid over has ever been returned - with many victims left empty handed.
Lois Bhagwan, 56, pictured on her marketing material, enticed her victims with promises of high returns, investing in her charitable project's high-interest fund
She falsely claimed to have links to the likes of Princess Anne and several other celebrities
She also falsely used Hillary Clinton's name when trying to deceive her victims
During her five-week trial at Oxford Crown Court, Bhagwan claimed links with heads of state, Royalty, ambassadors and Hollywood A-listers.
She has now been found guilty of seven counts of fraud. She was acquitted of three other charges.
Remanding her in custody, Judge Ian Pringle QC said: 'You've been found guilty by this jury of seven serious charges of fraud by misrepresentation or the equivalent.
'The sentence I am going to pass on you must be one of immediate imprisonment.
'Quite how long that will be is for me to consider when I have heard your learned counsel next week.'
Welcoming the conviction, Det Insp Duncan Wynn of Thames Valley Police's economic crime unit said: 'I think it shows Lois Bhagwan was a serious criminal and that these offences warranted an appearance at Oxford Crown Court and subsequent conviction.'
Fijian-born film producer Bhagwan's Lionheart Project was touted as a way of connecting people around the world to solve issues facing communities across the globe.
The scheme, which was launched at an event in the St Regis Hotel, Washington DC, in 2001 attended by former Amnesty International director Jack Healey, had its origins in the early 1990s.
The defendant hoped to create a film and associated TV series focusing on different communities around the world with people she branded 'Lionhearts'.
Over time the ambition grew, with a worldwide network of 'Lionhearts' and plans for a global launch of the film together with interactive 'experiences' capable of connecting people virtually around the world.
Bhagwan set her sights high. In the early 1990s, she approached former international cricketer Imran Khan, now prime minister of Pakistan, who was then raising money for a hospital in Lahore.
Bhagwan was found guilty of seven counts of fraud at Oxford Crown Court. She was warned she was going to prison when she returns for sentencing
He passed her on to his fundraising manager, Jacqueline Cowen. She told jurors: 'She said she was making a film...It was to help raise funds for various charities in the world and Imran Khan's was one of them.'
The defendant's globetrotting lifestyle saw her visit Egypt and Israel in company with former Sunday Times photographer Bryan Wharton, who snapped her meeting soldiers and diplomats.
She claimed to be funding the Lionheart
