Gaynor Casey jailed after defrauding elderly mother of over £100,000

Gaynor Casey has been sentenced after defrauding her elderly mother out of over £100,000.

Casey (18/10/1954), of Albert Royds Street, Rochdale pleaded guilty to fraud by position of trust at an earlier hearing.

She was sentenced at Minshull Street Crown Court to 12 months in prison.

In November 2008, Casey was named power of attorney over her mum’s finances and due to her ill health, she was placed in a care home. In December 2009, her mother’s house was sold for nearly £80,000 to help pay for her care.

Previous to the sale of the home, Casey had contacted Rochdale council saying her mother was below the threshold, entitling her to financial support. When the council asked for 12 months worth of bank statements to support her claim, she did not reply. Casey contacted them again in August 2012 with the same enquiry and arranged to fill in assessment forms with a benefits officer and it was noticed significant amounts of money had been withdrawn from the account. Casey claimed these were gifts from her mum to the family.

Police were contacted and police started an investigation. They discovered Casey had been using the account to pay for numerous personal items including trips to Paris, utility bills and car insurance as well as withdrawing money.

In five years, between November 2008 and December 2014, Casey had fraudulently obtained £120, 454.73.

Detective Sergeant Ian Paterson said: “What Casey did to her own mother is quite frankly disgusting. She took advantage of an elderly lady who relied on others for care and spent the money to fund her own life style.

“She withdrew thousands of pounds while spending hundreds on luxury trips to Paris, buying tickets to the theatre and football as well as purchasing electrical goods.

“Not only did she deceive her mum, who sadly died late last year, but she stopped paying for her care in October 2012. The care home is owed over £24,000 in fees and will not get that money back.”