A man has been arrested after stealing money from his dying great aunt for almost a year and pushing her into debt.
When Gillian Kirk, 74, was diagnosed with cancer, she became close to her great nephew Daniel Money, 24, but it was all a ploy by him.
She was paying him £100 a week to visit her and in return, he’d take her out shopping and such.
But Daniel, from Luton, England, was also raiding her bank account and helped himself to £16,000 (AU $31,826).
He bought a BMW on finance from her account and tried to get another one before he was caught and arrested.
Gillian unfortunately died three months after he was busted in March 2014, and she had once called him the “son she never had”.
Barclays Bank clued onto the suspicious bank account activity when they saw the 74-year-old had applied for finance for a second time in three months.
His family have called him the “scum of the earth” for his ultimate betrayal.
“She was a very intelligent woman and she felt betrayed and humiliated. To think it was her carer – the son she never had – who had treated her in such a way,” a family member said.
“He wanted money but didn’t want to have to work for it.”
Daniel had been allegedly keeping banking statements from Gillian, and made excuses that ATM receipts weren’t printing.
“Gillian Kirk never gave her permission for the defendant to buy things or make transactions,” said prosecutor Adam Pearson.
“The only reason he had access to her card was to check her balance.
“This defendant, her great nephew, visited her home regularly.
“She relied on him. He was there nearly every night. He would get her food, sit and watch TV with her and do shopping for her.”
Despite denying he’d taken money out of her life savings for nearly a year, he was found guilty and jailed for four years.
Judge Philip Bartle QC explained in court that she could have ended up bankrupt for what Daniel was doing.
He said of Daniel: “You betrayed that trust in an exceptional way. You took thousands of pounds from her for your own selfish greed, without a thought for this lady who you knew was dying of cancer.
“What an astonishing way to repay her love. All the while she was believing that you were the angel who was caring for her. The effect on her was devastating.”
Trending video: Karl Stefanovic reacts to movie role being cut
