£530,000 court bill for ex-Bradford social worker who swindled vulnerable victims
A former Bradford social worker who funded a lavish lifestyle using cash swindled from vulnerable victims has been ordered to pay back almost £530,000.
While working for Bradford Community Council, she fraudulently obtained power of attorney over 81-year-old Constance Lupton, after finding out the pensioner had £500,000 in savings and a house.
She took Mrs Lupton's money, spending it on Rolex watches and holidays, sharing the cash with husband David Tideswell, and son, Neil Moorhouse.
Moorehouse lived in Mrs Lupton's house rent-free before the defendant sold it when the stolen funds started dwindling.
Hillary Tideswell, of Wakefield Road in Halifax, then used some of the stolen cash to pay for the funeral of another man in her care, obtaining probate and transferring £27,372 of his into her own account.
She pleaded guilty to fraud offences and her husband and son were found guilty after a trial of converting criminal property.
David Tideswell, of Regent Road, Kirkheaton, was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
'A trail of financial and emotional devastation'
Following a Proceeds of Crime hearing at Leeds Crown Court, Hillary Tideswell was ordered to repay £530,347.96. David Tideswell, 68, was ordered to pay a total of £67,577.88.
Both were given three months to pay the orders or face jail time added to their original sentences. In Hillary Tideswell’s case this would be a further five years.
Moorhouse, 31, had previously been ordered to pay £30,000 after he was found guilty of money laundering.
Ramona Senior, who leads West Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: "Tideswell left a trail of financial and emotional devastation behind her and now the courts have ordered her ill-gotten gains to be taken from her – along with those of her husband David, who also played his part in this criminal enterprise.
"The impact of being a victim of fraud can be significant and even more so when those targeted are vulnerable, isolated or elderly.
"We will relentlessly pursue those who target such victims and will make every effort to recover compensation by using the Proceeds of Crime legislation."
“If you have been a victim of fraud, there is a network of support and information available to you. Sometimes people choose not to report fraud or seek advice because they are embarrassed that they fell for a scam, con, swindle, or any other word used to describe the crime.
“Remember that fraud is a crime and that fraudsters will constantly reinvent themselves to find new ways of tricking people. Anyone could be a victim.”
For more information please visit - https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/advice/fraud-and-financial-crime/fraud-and-financial-crime