A carer who drained an elderly man’s bank account to fund her gambling habit and a lavish holiday has been jailed.
Anne Hill, 57, stole more than £125,000 from her victim after gaining power of attorney over his affairs.
Travelling from her home in Harworth, she frequently visited Louis Woodward – a man in his 80s – in Blyth and used the stolen money to fund her addiction to online gambling.
Hill was given a six year prison sentence at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday (16 September), having previously been found guilty of committing multiple frauds.
The trial heard Hill’s offending consisted of a large volume of online transfers from Mr Woodward’s account directly into her account – totalling £125,164.96 between August 2019 and April 2021.
This money originated in part from the existing balances in Mr Woodward’s current and savings accounts, which were completely emptied and left overdrawn at the time of Hill’s arrest on 9 April 2021.
However, a large proportion of the money in fact originated from three drawdowns from a lifetime mortgage product held by Mr Woodward and secured against his home. At Hill’s request, total funds of £93,697 were released into the victim’s account, before being transferred into her own account.
When Hill was arrested after suspicions were raised by one of Mr Woodward’s friends, she denied any wrongdoing and insisted that all funds received by her were with his consent, adding that she received funds to pay his bills and that he also gifted her £60,000 in September 2021.
But jurors heard this conflict with Mr Woodward’s own account, provided in a video interview in which he said Hill only had permission to use his money for his benefit, such as payment of bills, and that he did not gift her any money, besides money to buy petrol.
Mr Woodward – who sadly died aged 86 during the early stages of the investigation – added he had previously assisted with car repair bills and loaned her the funds to purchase a new car in August 2020, but otherwise did not give her any money for her own benefit.
He also confirmed that he did not authorise the sale of his bungalow.
During the police investigation, detectives examined in detail the finances of both Hill and the victim – with bank statements showing Mr Woodward’s bills were paid by direct debit from his own bank account and not Hill’s as she’d claimed.
Furthermore, when requesting on three separate occasions the release of funds from the lifetime mortgage, Hill stated to legal representatives that the money was required to pay for carers, a mobility scooter and adaptations to his home – such as ramps – to make access easier. However, there is no evidence of the funds being used for such purposes and instead, the funds were transferred to Hill’s own bank account.
When no more equity was available, she put the bungalow up for sale, against Mr Woodward’s apparent wishes. Friends of the victim became concerned about Hill’s influence over him and raised concerns with social services, who in turn formed their own concerns and involved the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), which oversees powers of attorney.
The trial heard that during the course of the OPG’s investigation, Hill forged a letter from one of Mr Woodward’s friends and submitted it to the OPG to support her case.
Examination of Hill’s bank accounts indicated that she did not have a regular source of income, other than the weekly Carer’s Allowance.
Despite this, detectives uncovered she had spent vast sums on a variety of gambling websites. This gambling expense pre-dated Hill being appointed as Mr Woodward’s power of attorney over his affairs, showing that she had a long-term habit.
The court heard that between May 2018 when she was appointed power of attorney and April 2021 when she was arrested, Hill incurred net gambling losses of £108,251.91 across more than 17,000 individual transactions.
She also booked a 28-day holiday to Turkey for her and her family costing over £7,000 – although the Covid pandemic meant the trip was cancelled.
Despite all this evidence, Hill, of Hawkins Close, Harworth, continued to deny any wrongdoing and took the case to trial, where she was found guilty of five counts of fraud and one count of perverting the course of justice on 16 August.
In his sentencing remarks, Judge Mark Watson said: “This was a betrayal of the very significant trust placed in you. You deliberately targeted him because of his vulnerabilities.
“You took what you wanted, when you wanted it, stripping him of his life savings and then trying to take even more.”
Following the sentencing, Detective Sergeant Daniel Weaver, who led the investigation, said: “This was a very sad case in which a vulnerable, elderly man was taken advantage of by someone he trusted.
“It was only in the final months of Mr Woodward’s life that the full extent of Anne Hill’s financial abuse was discovered, after a vigilant friend raised concerns.
“On being referred to Nottinghamshire Police, a swift arrest was made, followed by a detailed investigation which included working with various partners to ensure Mr Woodward was thoroughly safeguarded in his final weeks and an in-depth review of financial data to build a strong case.
“The other victims in this case are the beneficiaries of Mr Woodward’s will – the animal charities and long-standing friends he had chosen to support after his death.
“We will now look to use the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover available funds from Anne Hill, so that his final wishes can be fulfilled as far as possible.
“Lasting Powers of Attorney exist to empower trusted persons to make important decisions in the best interests of another, often when they are at the most vulnerable stages of their lives. It is a powerful role that comes with a lot of responsibility, which most people take incredibly seriously and would never dream of abusing their authority.
“However, I hope this case demonstrates that where abuse does take place, Nottinghamshire Police and our partner agencies will work together to safeguard vulnerable people and ensure that perpetrators are held to account.”
