Kat Shields acted for the prosecution in the trial of a carer who defrauded a vulnerable elderly man and his mortgage provider.
The Defendant, Anne Hill, was a cleaner and carer for her victim, Louis Woodward. She was appointed to hold lasting power of attorney over Mr Woodward’s financial affairs in May 2018. She gained access to his bank accounts, and transferred over £125,000 to herself between August 2019 and April 2021.
An investigation by Nottinghamshire Police showed that Hill used the money she had taken from Mr Woodward to fund her online gambling addiction. Despite having no source of income other than her weekly Carer’s Allowance, between May 2018 and April 2021 (when she was arrested), Hill incurred net gambling losses of over £100,000. She also booked a 28-day holiday to Turkey for herself and her family costing over £7,000.
Hill suggested to police that the money she had taken was gifted to her. Mr Woodward – who sadly died aged 86 during the early stages of the investigation – provided a video interview to police, saying that he had made a loan to Hill so that she could purchase a car, but otherwise she only had permission to use his money for his benefit. He said that he did not gift her any money, besides petrol money.
Part of the £125,000 which Hill took from Mr Woodward represented the entirety of the balances of his current and savings accounts, which were empty by the time of Hill’s arrest. However, the majority of the money originated from three fraudulent drawdowns from a lifetime mortgage held by Mr Woodward, secured against his property. Hill stated to mortgage company representatives that the drawdowns were required to pay for carers, a mobility scooter and adaptations to Mr Woodward’s home. There was no evidence of the drawdowns being used for these purposes; the funds were transferred to Hill’s own bank accounts. When no more equity was available from Mr Woodward’s bungalow, Hill put his home up for sale against his wishes. Mr Woodward also told police that he did not authorise the sale of his bungalow.
Mr Woodward’s friends became concerned about Hill’s influence over him and raised concerns with social services, who in turn formed their own concerns and involved the Office of the Public Guardian. During the course of the Office of the Public Guardian’s investigation, Hill forged a letter from one of Mr Woodward’s friends and submitted it to investigators to support her case.
Hill was convicted by a jury at Nottingham Crown Court of five counts of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice. She was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment in September 2024.
See further coverage of the case here.
Kat was instructed by Anne Barrett at CPS East Midlands.
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