Wem man who scammed his father-in-law is jailed
A Wem man has been jailed for eight months after admitting he used his father-in-law’s debit card to pay off more than £1,000 of his own council tax debts.
Brian Gillon, 54, of Pepper Street, helped victim Brian Cashmore with his financial situation after Mr Cashmore’s wife Joan died in early 2009.
Mr Cashmore, who was 67 at the time, relied completely on his wife to organise his money.
Shrewsbury Crown Court heard that after 10 months of travelling to Mr Cashmore’s Burlton address to help him, Gillon and his wife Tracy - who is Mr Cashmore’s daughter - moved in with him in 2010.
Once there Gillon arranged for an equity release in order for Mr Cashmore to buy a car and a canal boat for him to move on to.
Then in late 2011 and early 2012, Gillon made two payments to the Marston Group, a company that collects council tax arrears. A third payment was then made to Rossendales, which also enforces debts. The payments altogether added up to £1,262.30.
At one point Gillon also spoke with Age Partnership UK, which brokered Mr Cashmore’s equity release, and lied to them about Mr Cashmore’s income.
The court heard that Mr Cashmore eventually moved on to his boat and shortly after met a woman named Donna Perks, with whom he began a romantic relationship.
Discrepancies
The fraudulent payments only became clear after the couple, who wanted to buy a property together, looked over Mr Cashmore’s bank statements and noticed discrepancies.
Gillon was handed the jail sentence after pleading guilty to four counts of fraud. He received two concurrent eight-month sentences.
Robert Edwards, prosecuting, said that the deception had made Mr Cashmore’s angina worse and had broken his relationship with his daughter Tracy.
Mr Andrew Macinnes, defending, said: “This is a very sad tale where family financial situations have become entwined and problems have arisen from that.”
Judge Jonathan Gosling said: “You took advantage of your father-in-law who was almost 70, and you knew he was vulnerable.
"He had recently lost his wife of many years to who he had been utterly devoted.
“You were happy to step into her shoes and manage his finances for him. You then used his debit card to line your pockets and pay your own debts.”
