A BUSINESSWOMAN who was duped by fraudsters Cullen and Buttle was in court as the judge delayed sentencing the pair.

Julie Goodwin, owner of Natural Health in WGC town centre, has stopped paying the �500-a-month bill for phone equipment she was conned into signing up for.

But despite the pair’s guilty pleas, Mrs Goodwin’s debt had been handed over to three finance companies, which are still chasing the cash estimated at around �45,000.

Her two businesses, in WGC and Hertford, are under threat and she could lose her Digswell home.

She was convinced to switch from analogue to a new digital phone by Cullen, working as a salesman for BC Telecom, and unwittingly signed up for an 87-month contract.

In court, prosecutor Miles Bennett reminded the judge Mrs Goodwin and other victims were watching proceedings from the public gallery.

Mr Bennett said: “There are finance companies who are still pursuing people and the sooner this case is sorted the better.”

The judge replied: “I understand their position, there isn’t anything I can do at the moment.”

But Mrs Goodwin said: “I can’t pay this debt. They set their business up to scam people, yet I’m still liable.

“It seems so wrong and there are loads of people in the same situation.”

She added she would return to court to see the pair sent to prison, but added: “I’ve got an ongoing sentence.”