Staffordshire woman jailed after taking more than £80k of vulnerable woman's money
The woman was supposed to be managing the victim's finances
A woman from Staffordshire has been jailed for 30 months after taking almost £83,000 from a vulnerable woman’s bank account by abusing her position as Power of Attorney.
The woman, a 43-year-old from the Burntwood area, was sentenced at the end of last month at Stafford Crown Court. She was found guilty of two counts of fraud on Friday 23 July.
Between 4 April 2012 and 1 July 2018, abused her position as Power of Attorney, in which she was expected to safeguard nor not act against the financial interests of another, made online payments from the bank account of a vulnerable woman totalling £39,466.40. She also made purchases using the woman’s bank cards totalling £43,488.02 during the same period.
Detective Constable Joanne Billings, of the force’s Adult Safeguarding Team, said: “She was in a position of trust and she helped herself to the assets she was supposed to be managing.
“Those with power of attorney or deputyship should make decisions that are in the best interest of the person they are assisting. There are very strict rules about what can be given as gifts and claimed as expenses to prevent this sort of behaviour.