A Holyhead man stole £22,458 from his blind father-in-law’s bank account and bought a kitchen and expensive musical equipment, a court heard .
Caernarfon crown court was told HSBC staff at Llangefni, Anglesey, became suspicious about cash withdrawals and ensured a replacement bank card could only be collected by the victim at the branch, after Richard Morgan suggested one had gone missing.
Prosecutor Owen Edwards said, when the card was cancelled, Morgan had attended the bank with his father-in-law in his wheelchair and it appeared tried to withdraw £5,000. Mr Edwards said the case was a good example of the benefits of having local bank branches.
The judge praised staff who alerted police.
Morgan, 53, of George Street, Holyhead, admitted fraud between September 2018 and May 2019.
He received a 16 months suspended jail term and must do 250 hours unpaid work and repay the swindled money within six months to the estate of William Jones who died, aged 87, last year.
The defendant must also pay £1,040 costs.
Judge Nicola Jones said Morgan abused his position as son-in-law.
His wife Pearl had also benefited from the fraud although she was one of two main beneficiaries of her father’s will.
The defendant had “despicably” thrown suspicion on to Mr Jones’s innocent son.
Judge Jones said :”This was relentless. It was a concerted, greedy and persistent effort to defraud this vulnerable elderly gentleman. In mitigation I have taken into account your wife is extremely ill and requires constant care.”
The judge added that there was “genuine remorse and shame.”
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