A woman dying of cancer used her final words to speak of her anger and sadness after her great niece and nephew defrauded her out of thousands of pounds.
Twins Jenna and Jon Dyer, 36, stole more than £14,000 from their 91-year-old great aunt over a three-month period – using her cards to steal cash from three different accounts.
The victim, who had never been in debt before, was later left with a court summons for an unpaid bill.
The twins’ fraudulent activities were uncovered when the Co-operative bank contacted the victim to alert her of suspicious activity on her account.
Records from one account showed that the maximum amount of £250 was withdrawn daily from different locations over a four week period.
On 29 August 2019, Jenna even used one card to withdraw £250 as her mother and the victim sat waiting for her in a car. Showing a total disregard for what she was doing, she is said to have twirled on the spot as she returned with the cash.
Money was also stolen from the victim’s post office account that she would regularly make withdrawals from to help pay for her bills and outgoings.
Records showed that from 13 June 2019, excessive amounts of money were being withdrawn, with one account balance dwindling from over £5000 to just £300 in the space of three and a half months.
Just two days before the withdrawals started, the victim – still unaware of the previous thefts – had made Jenna a “permanent agent” on the account, meaning she was given her own card to make withdrawals as and when needed by the victim.
The total amount believed to have been stolen from the victim by the fraudulent use of her bank cards from 13 June 2019 to 30 September 2019 is believed to be over £14,000.
Further suspicions about the twins’ activities were raised when they sent a picture to their family of the victim asleep in a chair.
Tragically the victim died during the investigation, leaving her family heartbroken as they believed they may have been able to spend one more Christmas with her.
Jenna and Jon both appeared at Nottingham Crown Court yesterday (8 November) after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation.
Jenna, of Middledale Road, Carlton, was jailed for two years after pleading guilty to three counts of fraud by false representation.
Jon, of Westdale Lane East, Carlton, was sentenced to two years and eight months after pleading guilty to two counts of the same charge.
Marion Goldfeather, the twins’ mother, explained the devastating impact their actions had had on their victim.
She said: “Auntie Eva died just over six weeks after finding out that my daughter Jenna had stolen thousands of pounds from her and later found out that my son Jon was also involved.
“Our family have all been so deeply affected by Jenna and Jon’s callous crime. I want the judge and jury to know about Eva and what this has done to our family.
“Auntie Eva was 91-years-old, the matriarch of the family, the last of a past generation and she had been through so much.
“She would do anything for her family and she lived for her family and the family including Jenna and Jon knew this.
“They knew Auntie Eva would do anything she could for anyone, yet they tricked her and manipulated her, stealing her money that she worked hard for all her life.
“On finding out what Jenna had done she was inconsolable, felt betrayed, hurt and was heartbroken.
“She couldn’t comprehend how someone she cared for so much could hurt her so badly and show complete disregard for her feelings and their relationship.
“Despite being diagnosed with breast cancer she still had a zest for life and had so much to keep fighting for and she did – we were so proud of her.
“When the police investigation started and it came to light what had happened, Auntie Eva lost her fighting spirit. It changed her so much, she was giving up on life, it was clear for the family to see. This broke her.”
The twins mother explained how the more information that came to light the more her aunt gave up on life and sadly passed away.
“I am so ashamed and I will never forgive or forget what they did to her and what they have done to her memory when she showed them nothing but love.
“It feels as though we Eva’s family have served a sentence of 21 months in a prison full of nightmares, what-ifs and self-guilt. We need to be released from this torture so we can start to love again and that Eva can finally rest in peace.”
Detective Constable Nicola Watson, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Fraud Investigation Team, said: “This was an appalling abuse of trust in which both Jenna and Jon stole thousands from their own great aunt.
“They were both loved dearly by their great aunt and were in a position of trust to access her bank accounts and also her home but clearly acted for their own interests rather than those of their own family member.
“Naturally, this has been a very upsetting case for the family since the incident came to light and Eva sadly passed away before both Jon and Jenna were brought in front of the courts.
“The family have waited over two years for this day so I welcome the result from court and hope it gives both Jon and Jenna time to reflect and think about their actions and the huge emotional impact it’s had on their family and also on their great aunt.
“This has had such a devastating impact on the family. I hope now that they can all move on from this incident and begin to rebuild their lives once again.
“Nottinghamshire Police takes fraud and financial abuse extremely seriously. I hope the prison sentences passed will make anyone out there thinking of stealing from others, think again. We will take robust action against those who commit such offences.”