Woman squandered thousands of pounds belonging to her elderly aunt

Bradford Crown Court heard that Amanda Taylor withdrew £18,631 in cash from ATMs and blew money on shopping as well as payments to eBay and Paypal over more than two years.

Prosecutor Philip Adams said Taylor, 55, of Brooksbank Gardens, Elland, assumed sole responsibility for power of attorney over her aunt following the death of her mother in 2019.

Her aunt, now 82 and described as particularly vulnerable and suffering from learning difficulties, has been in a care home in Halifax since 2000.

The fraud was discovered when the victim’s care home fees stopped being paid and her account fell into deficit by more than £3,000.

On being contacted Taylor, who had power of attorney in relation to her finances, said there wasn’t enough money in the account. That prompted the care home manager to inform the police.

An investigation of the victim’s bank account showed Taylor had used her money for her own purposes: £5,593 on shopping and £931 on online sites.

Police said the overall figure topped £25,000 but was reduced by money that Taylor had transferred back into the account.

Police said the balance she had taken was just over £21,000.

Mr Adams said Taylor paid £150 into her aunt’s petty cash account and had bought personal items for her including a wheelchair, a TV, and an armchair.

The court heard that Taylor rarely visited her aunt and that a care assistant had used her own money to pay for some of her essential needs such as toiletries.

When arrested in April 2024 Taylor said she had had every intention of repaying the money, which she estimated was between £2,000 and £3,000.

She said she had been in financial difficulties and that the money had been used for day-to-day living expenses.

She admitted withdrawing cash every week and shopping at various stores including Bargain Booze.

She accepted she had not kept a record of what had been spent and felt “terrible” when told the true figure of the overall loss.

She later pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Mitigating, Fen Greatley-Hirsch said Taylor lived “a lonely existence”. She relied on benefits as she was unable to work due to poor physical and mental health.

He said: “This offence was not committed to fund a lavish lifestyle. There is no evidence that Miss Taylor was using this money for anything other than paying off bills and [for] day-to-day living.

“Miss Taylor appears to have buried her head in the sand when it came to the exact amount that she was taking.”

He said she had felt “shame” when told the true figure of the fraud, which he said was “not a sophisticated offence”, adding: “She was always going to get caught.”

He said Taylor had voluntarily re-paid more than £4,000 to her aunt.

Sentencing Taylor to 18 months imprisonment suspended for two years, Mrs Recorder Taryn Turner said: “Over a period of nearly four years you squandered [the victim’s] money. You dipped in and out, taking money until there came a point when the care home fees were not being paid.

“One of the care assistants had had to finance some of [the victim’s] essential needs because you rarely visited your aunt.

“[She was] particularly vulnerable given her age, financial circumstances, and mental state.

Taylor was also placed on a six-month curfew running from 9pm to 7am.