‘Playing me’: Mum faces losing home after boss betrayal

A mum-of-three says she is fighting to save her family home after allegedly being tricked by her former boss into guaranteeing business loans that spiralled into a debt now worth almost half a million dollars. Nicky Oakley, from Cheshire in the UK, says she trusted James Kenny, a man she had known for nearly 20 years, when he offered her what sounded like a dream job helping launch a pirate-themed festival. Instead, she alleges that trust left her tied to loans secured against her home, facing repossession and owing more than $475,000 once fees and interest were added. “My life is in absolute tatters,” Oakley told the Daily Mail. “I’ve been used by a man I’d known for decades and am on the verge of financial ruin. I feel like such an idiot for falling for his lies, but I trusted him implicitly.” MORE NEWS ‘Loser’: Owner’s illegal act in neighbour fight Cop accused of taking over dead man’s home $5bn homes gone: Foreign buyers flood Aus Oakley says Kenny asked her in 2023 to act as guarantor on a $114,000 loan, claiming the business was waiting on lottery funding and the debt would be repaid quickly. She later agreed to a second bridging loan worth $270,800 after being told it would...