The X Factor runner-up broke down in tears at Liverpool Crown Court in England on Wednesday (17Jun15) as she told how Rachel Taylor, 53, of Southport, scammed her by pretending to be a qualified accountant and fraudulently receiving her money.

Taylor also pretended to set up a trust fund for Ferguson's daughter, but kept the money for herself.

Ferguson told the court, "My heart and my mind are broken by her crimes... As a result of everything, I cannot trust people... I now question everybody and it limits me socially.

"Worst of all was the panic attacks because she became so involved in my life... I felt she had become obsessed with me and my family and sought not only to steal from me but rob (me of) everything I had worked hard for."

Taylor was jailed for 16 months after admitting two counts of fraud. Taylor's husband Raymond was also jailed for five months as part of an unrelated fraud case, which was discovered when police officers began investigating Ferguson's claims in 2013.