A handyman has been jailed after raiding an elderly woman’s savings, making one last payment to himself of £15,000 just an hour before the pensioner died in hospital.
Simon Appleby, 40, paid himself more than £100,000 from the woman’s laptop during a three-year period while claiming to carry out work in her home.
He first met his woman in her 80s when he was employed as her cleaner, but when the company went bust, he continued to visit her, carrying out odd jobs, such as painting her garage and changing light bulbs.
The trusting pensioner allowed him to log into her online banking account to pay himself.
He made 41 payments to himself from September 2019 until she passed away in December 2022, claiming some were for materials he brought to help him carry out odd jobs at her house, such as changing her garage door, which was never replaced.
Appleby even visited the victim in her eighties in hospital to check she was unconscious so that he could then let himself into her house to carry out one final transaction.
The payment of £15,000 was made on December 12, 2022, just an hour before the victim died in hospital.
The woman’s family contacted police to raise concerns about payments made to Appleby amounting to £102,627 over 39 months.
Appleby, of Bucknell, near Knighton, Powys, admitted fraud by false representation and was sentenced to three years in jail at Shrewsbury Crown Court
Appleby claimed there was ‘no issue’ with him accessing her bank account to pay himself, but later admitted defrauding the pensioner despite saying she asked him to do work at her home.
However, he was unable to provide any proof of any purchases.
Appleby, of Bucknell, near Knighton, Powys, admitted fraud by false representation and was sentenced to three years in jail at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
Detective Constable Emily Cooke, of West Mercia Police, said: ‘I welcome the sentence given to Appleby, whose actions were a shameful abuse of trust, targeting a vulnerable woman who relied on him for help and support.
‘Appleby knowingly exploited that trust for personal gain, and to take more than £100,000 from her over an extended period was deeply dishonest and morally inexcusable.
‘What he did was calculated, carried out against someone who believed he was acting in her best interests.
‘The fact that he continued to pay himself even as she lay unconscious in hospital shows the extent of his deceit.
‘I want to commend the victim’s family for coming forward and reporting their concerns to police.
‘I hope this sentence sends a clear message that those who exploit vulnerable people for financial gain, we will investigate and put them before the courts.’
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