A MAN from Holyhead was jailed after using a cheque worth £8,300 addressed to an elderly, vulnerable woman from Gwynedd he had never met.

Gavin Quarless, 41, of Bro Crigyll, was sentenced to 13 months’ imprisonment at Caernarfon Crown Court today (March 21).

The woman who the cheque was addressed to, Lucille Hughes, was director of social services in Gwynedd for many years, and died in February 2021.

Prosecuting, Laura Knightly told the court that, on July 17, 2020, Quarless came into possession of Ms Hughes’ £8,300 cheque, which was then paid into the bank account of his then-girlfriend, Dawn Owen.

Both Quarless and Ms Owen were said to have been in receipt of benefits at the time, and the £8,300 was “drained” from her account in less than a month.

In one instance, a £4,000 cash deposit was taken out, while a £379 television was among their purchases.

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Ms Owen’s bank account, consequently, showed “widely different” spending compared to before July 17, 2020, on which date it had a balance of £9.63.

The loss of money from Ms Hughes’ account came to light when police were called by her bank after her account became overdrawn by £6,000.

After his arrest, Quarless told police he was given the cheque by a man he knew only as “Irish John”, who had come across him crying in a lay-by.

A victim statement, provided by Ms Hughes’ next of kin, described her as a “formidable woman” who was “devoted to serving the community”.

The statement also spoke of the “sadness it brings to the family that someone has preyed on her vulnerability and taken advantage of her”.

Ms Hughes was also to have been particularly isolated at the time due to the lockdown restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, with much of her communication with her family then via telephone.

The money was later paid back to her by her bank.

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Quarless was said to have 21 previous convictions for 32 offences, including for dishonesty-related matters.

Though, Simon Rogers, defending, said Quarless’ last conviction for dishonesty was in March 2017.

Mr Rogers conceded that this was “an extremely mean offence, committed against a vulnerable, elderly lady”, whom his client had never previously met or had any knowledge of.

Quarless was said to now be in a stable relationship with another woman who is three months pregnant, and he has children from previous relationships.

He left school with no formal qualifications, Mr Rogers added, but is currently employed and serving a community order, with which Quarless was said to be “complying” and “working well”.

Mr Rogers added: “This is not a sophisticated defendant, by any means.

“He’s on an order. He’s complying and doing well, and perhaps, there is no better evidence (of his realistic prospect of rehabilitation) than that.”

Despite this, Judge Nicola Saffman deemed Quarless’ offence “despicable”, and ruled that only immediate custody was an appropriate punishment.

Judge Saffman told Quarless: “Not only is it clear that she was vulnerable, because she had dementia or Alzheimer’s, which was just beginning.

“But this was during the COVID-19 pandemic, where her family couldn’t attend to her as they would have wished.

“There was a devastating impact on the family, who felt they’d let Ms Hughes down.

“You carried on offending, as recently as 2022, after you were charged.

“I cannot remove myself from the position that this offence is so serious that an immediate custodial sentence is appropriate.”

A statutory surcharge was imposed on Quarless, whose community order was revoked.