Crooked cleaner who fleeced blind dementia sufferer out of £200k sent back to jail
A cleaner who fleeced a 93-year-old blind dementia sufferer out of over £200,000 has found herself back behind bars after failing to repay the stolen money.
Veronica Robinson was jailed for five and a half years in 2017 after spending £188,000 of his savings buying a house for herself and stealing thousands more in a series of cheques and cash withdrawals.
Scheming Robinson isolated the wealthy widower from friends and family and purported being his carer, allowing her to take control of his money after she started an £8.50-an-hour cleaning job at his Black Country home in August 2013.
She spent £188,000 of his savings buying a house in Beecher Street, Halesowen, for herself, which she was forced to return to his victim's family in February 2016.
Robinson also persuaded the Second World War veteran, who served in the North Atlantic and has since passed away - to sign 34 cheques, 28 of which were written by her, to withdraw a further £62,400 from his account at a Halesowen bank during the 19 months she worked for him.
During her campaign to isolate him, Robinson preyed on his disabilities and vanity.
The twice married, highly-skilled welder worked on oil rigs worldwide and was awarded an MBE for services to industry. Described as proud and stubbon by friends, he hated being alone and was proud of his physique, regularly going to the gym into his 90s, but later suffered from dementia and a degenerative eye complaint that left him registered as blind and dependent on others for help with his finances.
Robinson spread lies about neighbours that fractured friendships with those who had supported him since the death of his second wife in 2005.
In 2017 she was convicted of fraud by abuse of position and attempting to pervert the course of justice at Wolverhampton Crown Court, and jailed. Appeals to overturn her convictions have failed.
Although the house has been returned to his family, Robinson still had an outstanding order to repay the stolen cash. In 2019, Judge Barry Berlin at Wolverhampton Crown Court ordered Robinson to repay £67,017 or face a further 18 months in jail.
Robinson was given the responsibility of explaining what happened to the money she pocketed but failed to do so.
The judge concluded: “She has no plausible explanation for where it has gone.”
Robinson was hauled before Birmingham Magistrates Court last week and jailed for another 426 days after failing to repay her ill-gotten gains, with the amount owed now standing at more than £70,000 with accrued interest.
Councillor Nicolas Barlow, Dudley Council's cabinet member responsible for trading standards, said: "Veronica Robinson did the unthinkable, cheating an elderly and vulnerable resident out of his life savings and our trading standards team has been determined to see this case through and ensure she repays the money.
"She has continued to deny ever stealing money from the victim and has evaded court orders to repay ever since she was found guilty.
"This case sends a clear message that will investigate wrongdoing and support victims of financial crime."
