Son jailed after stealing £60k savings from parents with dementia
A son, who fleeced more than £60,000 from his elderly parents after being given control of their finances, has been jailed.
Neil Jackson used their bank cards to withdraw up to £600 cash and make contactless purchases at as many as 14 stores a day.
The 63-year-old father of four told police he blew over £44,000 gambling during the 14-month long scam, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard.
The defendant pocketed £50,300 through cash withdrawals, picked up a further £6,438 with contactless transactions and plundered an extra £5,741 from his 84-year-old mother’s post office account into which her state pension was paid.
His 89-year-old father and mother each suffered from severe dementia, revealed Mr Andrew Wallace, prosecuting.
Power of attorney
The defendant and his younger brother Adrian were each given power of attorney over their parents’ affairs with the older man taking responsibility for the finances after the elderly couple were taken into care from their West Bromwich home following dementia checks in August 2017.
Initially Neil Jackson got his parents to sign cheques to cover the cost but the bank soon refused to accept them because the signatures were no longer recognisable.
He started to siphon money from their joint HSBC current account in October 2017 and when that ran short he transferred over £31,000 from his mother’s Nationwide ISA account in June 2018.
His brother uncovered the fraud by getting details of withdrawals from the joint current account after received a text message outlining the financial crisis in November 2018.
'Devastated'
Adrian Jackson said in statement: “Our parents would be devastated if they knew what he had done. I feel betrayed.”
Mr Omar Majid, defending, said: “He had not gambled for 40 years but started again as a release for the pressure he was under. He is utterly ashamed.”
Neil Jackson from Beech Road, Wednesbury pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and was jailed for two years.
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