Fraudster stole from ill relative in Ludlow

Rebecca Roberts abused the trust of a vulnerable 60-year-old family member when she used her bank card and cheque books to steal more than £2,800.

Roberts took the money from her victim who was at the time receiving full-time care for serious health problems, including heart disease, at her home in Ludlow.

Shrewsbury Crown Court was told that Roberts used her relative's bank card to buy clothes from the internet amounting to £427.68, took £1,500 from cashpoints on two occasions and fraudulently signed four cheques worth £900.

The 25-year-old, of Henley Road in Ludlow, had pleaded guilty to one count of fraud and two counts of theft at an earlier hearing and was yesterday before the court again to be sentenced.

She was handed a 40-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, by Judge Robin Onions.

He said: "You should have admitted this from the outset. This was mean offending.

"The complainant was your family member, you knew she was a lady with serious health and life limiting problems.

"You knew that, despite your relationship, you coldly abused the trust she had placed in you, and it was on more than one occasion.

"You did this for presents for your partner and you spent some on yourself.

"On count one over a couple of days you obtained goods on a card, you then take cash on two occasions, not content with that you take four cheques worth £900.

"Fortunately the bank has taken responsibility and repaid the victim."

The court heard how Roberts, a mother-of-one, had been in an abusive relationship and was financially dependent on her partner. It was revealed that she had been given access to her family member's bank details but only to buy food for her sick relative and in limited amounts.

It was her victim's daughter who alerted police to the spending activity on her mother's account and Roberts was arrested in September last year.

The offences took place between April and August 2014.

Judge Onions added: "You are a mother of a very young child. I disregard the excuses you gave that you were pressurised by your boyfriend.

"You did it freely and because you wanted money and goods you couldn't have," he added.

Roberts was handed a 20-week sentence for the count of fraud. She also received an additional 20 weeks for each of the theft counts to run concurrently with each other.

The overall 40-week sentence was suspended for two years.

She was also made the subject of activity requirement sessions, 150 hours of unpaid work and a three month curfew.

A charge of fraud alleged against Roberts' mother Cynthia Roberts, 58, of Station Cottages, Bromfield, near Ludlow, and a count of receiving stolen goods were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service and ordered to lie on file.