Jail for couple who funded holidays with cash frauded from Herts Council
The couple were sentenced at St Albans Crown Court earlier today
A couple who enjoyed holidays abroad with some of the money from a relative who faked a neurological condition to scam a local authority have been jailed.
Earlier this year, Frances Noble, 66, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court to four years and nine months for defrauding Hertfordshire County Council out of over £624,000.
Noble pretended she was bedbound and unable to feed herself, needing round the clock care between 2007 and 2018.
Today, her daughter and son-in-law were jailed for money laundering offenses which arose from the fraud.
Laura Borell, 44, got three years and nine months, whilst Philip Borrell, 46, got four years and three months.
At St Albans Crown Court, Judge Richard Foster described the crimes as "sophisticated" and said there was evidence that the pair enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle, going on trips to "Boston, San Francisco, as well as Canada."
He added, "Philip Borrell had a good salary but this was subsidised by the use of this criminal money."
He also said the cost of social care was a burden on the taxpayer and they were the real "victims of this fraud."
A spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said, "We are pleased to see that like Mrs Noble custodial sentences have been handed down to her daughter and son-in-law reflecting the seriousness of their offences.
"Their offences were planned, calculated and carried out with the intention of abusing a care system designed first and foremost to meet the requirements of those in need of support."