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Samantha Cookes

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For the jiu-jitsu black belt, see Samantha Cook.

Samantha Jade Cookes
Born
Samantha Jade Cookes

1988 (age 36–37)
Gloucester, UK
Other names
  • Carrie Jade Williams
  • Jade O'Sullivan
  • Jade Cooke
  • Rebecca Fitzgerald
  • Lucy FitzWilliams
  • Sadie Harris
EducationDenmark Road High School
University of York (dropped out)
Occupationwriter
Children3
Convictions26 October 2011 (Teesside Crown Court)[1]
11 February 2025 (Tralee Circuit Court)[2]
Criminal chargeFraud by false representation,[1] theft[2]
PenaltyFour years in jail with the final 12 months suspended[3]

Samantha Jade Cookes, (born 1988 in Gloucestershire, UK[4]) is a serial fraudster with multiple criminal convictions.

First convicted in the UK in 2011,[1] between 2014 and 2024 she perpetrated multiple scams in Ireland under the pseudonyms Carrie Jade Williams,[5] Jade O'Sullivan,[6] Jade Cooke,[7] Rebecca Fitzgerald,[8] Lucy FitzWilliams,[9] and Sadie Harris,[10]. Often posing as a nanny or children’s therapist, Cookes gained the trust of unsuspecting families, before fleeing when her deceptions were uncovered.[11]

In 2020, posing as a writer with Huntington’s Disease, she won the Bodley Head Literature Prize.[12] Two years later, she appeared on social media platform TikTok, where her claims of being discriminated against because of her illness went viral. An investigation into these claims by VICE World News[13] led to the exposure of her many other scams and schemes.

After repeatedly evading Gardaí, in July 2024 she was arrested in Tralee, Ireland[3] for welfare fraud, deception, and theft.[14][2][15] Remanded in custody for ten months, in March 2025 she was convicted and imprisoned for three years.

Following the initial VICE exposé, Cookes has been the subject of multiple news reports, podcasts and television documentaries.

Background and early life

[edit]

Cookes was born in Gloucestershire in 1988.[4] She attended Denmark Road High School in the centre of Gloucester until 2007.[16][17] She dropped out of a degree course at the University of York.[4] In July 2008, Samantha gave birth to her first child, Martha Isabel Cookes, however the child died on the day she was due to be given up for adoption. A notebook was discovered by a woman Samantha had been working for as an au pair that contained a statement saying she did not kill her child.[18] An inquest ruled the death an accident.[17]

Media depictions

[edit]

Carrie Jade Does Not Exist

[edit]

In 2023, Audio Always produced a six-part podcast series[19] hosted by television presenter Sue Perkins and journalist Katherine Denkinson. The series retold the story[20] that Katherine had written for VICE World News the year before, in which Cookes' claims of terminal illness, interactions with families, and other concerning behaviour was exposed and explored at length. After Cookes re-emerged in 2024, the series was extended to cover the events of her arrest and trial.

Swindled - "The Vacation Rental"

[edit]

A 2023 bonus episode of Swindled, entitled "The Vacation Rental", examines Cookes' claims of a terminal illness, and her attempts to defraud Airbnb renters.[21]

The Real Carrie Jade

[edit]

In 2024, The RTÉ Radio Player produced a 4-episode podcast series, narrated by Justine Stafford about its interactions with and investigations of Cookes.[22][23] Cookes had contacted RTÉ through its documentary department and Liveline.[24][25] Eventually, RTÉ producer Ronan Kelly met with Cookes ("Carrie Jade") in Caherciveen, in County Kerry, and recorded her claims of being a disability advocate, as a self-professed sufferer of Huntington's disease.[26] The series investigates these and other claims made by Cookes, and the money she fraudulently received from donors.[15][23]

Bad Nanny

[edit]

Bad Nanny is a two-part true crime documentary broadcast in May 2025 by RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland. The series explores the case of Samantha Cookes, a serial fraudster who used multiple aliases – including Carrie Jade Williams, Lucy Hart, and Sadie Harris – to deceive individuals and families across Ireland and the UK over more than a decade.[18] The documentary reveals how Cookes initially came to public attention in 2022 via emotional social media posts claiming she was terminally ill with Huntington’s disease. Her story generated widespread sympathy until online communities began questioning the validity of her claims. Investigations led to the unmasking of her real identity and exposed a history of deception dating back years.[27]

Featured in the series are several of Cookes’ victims, including a North Yorkshire couple she deceived while posing as a surrogate mother, and a family in County Offaly who unknowingly employed her as a nanny. In another instance, Cookes pretended to be a therapist for children with additional needs and collected money for a fake Lapland trip before disappearing.[28][29]

Cookes was arrested in Tralee in 2024 and later convicted in March 2025 on multiple charges, including theft and welfare fraud. She received a four-year prison sentence with the final year suspended.[18]

The documentary aired on RTÉ One and BBC One Northern Ireland, with streaming available on RTÉ Player and BBC iPlayer. It was released alongside a podcast companion, The Real Carrie Jade, which provides additional context and interviews.[30]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c "Phoney surrogate mother avoids jail". Daily Telegraph. 27 October 2011. p. 2. EBSCOhost 8Q253104773 – via EBSCOHOST.
  2. ^ a b c Kelleher, Sinead (11 February 2025). "Fraudster Samantha Jade Cookes pleads guilty to €60k theft from state after making up illness". Irish Independent.
  3. ^ a b "Convicted fraudster Samantha Cookes jailed for three years at Tralee court". RadioKerry.ie. 5 March 2025.
  4. ^ a b c Denkinson, Katherine (9 December 2022). "'Made My Blood Run Cold': Unmasking a TikTok Creator Who Doesn't Really Exist". Vice.com.
  5. ^ "The Indo Daily Revisited: Confronted – Serial fraudster 'Carrie Jade Williams' working as au pair in Kildare". Irish Independent. 7 July 2024.
  6. ^ Lucey, Anne (25 September 2024). "Alleged fraudster Samantha Cookes willing to be deported if it saves the State money, court told". Irish Examiner.
  7. ^ Tighe, Mark (7 March 2025). "Arts Council gave €36k in grants to serial fraudster Samantha Cookes using fake name". SundayWorld.com.
  8. ^ Rountree, Sara (7 June 2024). "New RTE podcast on notorious nanny scammer who targetted Cork families". CorkBeo. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  9. ^ Joyce, Anna (18 June 2024). "The Real Carrie Jade - episode 3 re-cap - I'm Lucy Fitzwilliams!". RTE.ie. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  10. ^ Joyce, Anna (9 July 2024). "The Real Carrie Jade - season finale recap - I'm Sadie Harris!". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  11. ^ "'Made My Blood Run Cold': Unmasking a TikTok Creator Who Doesn't Really Exist". VICE. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  12. ^ "'Made My Blood Run Cold': Unmasking a TikTok Creator Who Doesn't Really Exist". VICE. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  13. ^ "'Made My Blood Run Cold': Unmasking a TikTok Creator Who Doesn't Really Exist". VICE. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 15 May 2025.
  14. ^ Sheehy, Paschal (10 March 2025). "Cookes' grant applications were based on 'artistic merit'". RTE News. Retrieved 10 March 2025.
  15. ^ a b Joyce, Anna (28 June 2024). "What happens to the victims of con artists like Carrie Jade?". RTÉ.ie. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  16. ^ Sheehy, Paschal (8 March 2025). "Number of remarkable features to Samantha Cookes case". RTE.ie.ie.
  17. ^ a b Joyce, Anna (12 June 2024). "The Real Carrie Jade - episode 2 re-cap - I'm Samantha Cookes!". RTE.ie. Retrieved 11 March 2025.
  18. ^ a b c "Making Bad Nanny: how we uncovered the truth behind Carrie Jade". RTÉ Culture. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  19. ^ "Carrie Jade Does Not Exist". Spotify. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  20. ^ "'Made My Blood Run Cold': Unmasking a TikTok Creator Who Doesn't Really Exist". VICE. 9 December 2022. Retrieved 1 May 2025.
  21. ^ "The Vacation Rental". Swindled (Podcast). 20 April 2023 – via Spotify.
  22. ^ "The Real Carrie Jade". Doc on One. 23 January 2025. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  23. ^ a b "The Real Carrie Jade: RTÉ's gripping podcast about the pathological liar Samantha Cookes is hard to turn away from". The Irish Times.
  24. ^ Stafford, Justine (2024). "The Real Carrie Jade" (Podcast). The Real Carrie Jade. No. 1. RTÉ Radio Player.
  25. ^ Duffy, Joe (6 March 2025). 6 March 2025 (Radio broadcast). Liveline. RTÉ Radio 1.
  26. ^ "Scammer Carrie Jade was so convincing even RTÉ believed her". Extra.ie. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 19 March 2025.
  27. ^ "New documentary Bad Nanny tells the story of serial scammer Samantha Cookes". RTÉ. 1 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  28. ^ "BBC and RTÉ co-produce documentary on scammer Samantha Cookes". BBC Media Centre. 30 April 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  29. ^ "Victims of fraudster Samantha Cookes feature in RTÉ documentary". Irish Independent. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
  30. ^ "The Real Carrie Jade on Apple Podcasts". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 19 May 2025.
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