Janet White and her husband Rob were charity workers looking to open a hostel for the homeless in Weatherfield in May 2011. They offered Sian Powers and Sophie Webster the chance to view how their project in Nottingham worked. The two girls were unaware that the whole project was a hoax and that James Cunningham was their apprentice in the scam. When a naïve Sophie transferred £20,000 to Rob's bank account to help buy the hostel in July 2011, the couple vanished and the girls realised they'd been conned. Janet and her husband were later arrested and sentenced to prison later in the year.