Mother steals tens of thousands from nan leaving her in so much debt she was almost evicted

A woman stole tens of thousands from her own nan - leaving her in so much debt she was almost evicted from her home of three decades.

Joanne McGarity, 42, took nearly £50,000 from her elderly victim over the course of several years to fund her gambling addiction.

The 87-year-old was left in to much debt bailiffs threatened to repossess her belongings and her house.

Liverpool Crown Court heard McGarity helped herself to £45,663.65 of Joan Jones' money between January 2019 and February 2022 after becoming her carer in 2017.

Ms Jones is unable to walk unaided, and requires help with duties including cleaning and shopping.

McGarity, of Hood Manor, Warrington, was given her debit card in order to help with the shopping and put in charge of her financial affairs, but she regularly helped herself to cash withdrawals of hundreds of pounds at a time, as well as transferred money from Ms Jones' account into her own.

Sarah Griffin, prosecuting, said the victim's son Ian Jones, the defendant's uncle, first became suspicious when McGarity asked another family member for money to buy bread and milk for the pensioner.

He then approached his elderly mum with his concerns, and the two identified the alarming discrepancies after obtaining bank statements dating back to 2019.

After they called the police McGarity phoned her nan saying "she was so sorry".

McGarity was arrested in March 2022, and a search of her home revealed four receipts from ATMs from Ms Jones' account as well as bank statements and debt warning letters.

The mother-of-two told detectives under interview "I know I screwed up, but I need to wait for more information in relation to the accounts". She answered no comment thereafter.

Ms Jones discovered that she had been left in rental arrears of £2,000 by McGarity, and was "told she would be evicted if she couldn't pay".

She was found to owe a further £2,200 in council tax and "received threats to send enforcers round", while a Sky bill was also left unpaid.

A statement read out to the court on her behalf said: "When I found out what happened, I felt really down for a while. I still can't believe a member of my own family has done what they have done to me.

"My expectation was that she was going to look after me and not take advantage of me. I feel devastated and gobsmacked.

"I never ever thought it would happen to me. I could have lost my house due to what she has done to me.

"I have lived here for over 30 years and I love it here. I don't think I can ever forgive her, she has truly devastated me."

McGarity has no previous convictions. Paul Becker, defending, told the court: "The defendant is thoroughly ashamed of herself for what she did.

"She knows she has done wrong and committed a serious offence over a prolonged period of time, causing a lot of upset and stress to a very vulnerable victim.

"For the first 39 years of this defendant's life, she was offence free.

"She has had a difficult life. The relationship she had with an individual when she was a teenager was an unhappy one - he was an alcoholic and he was abusive.

"She had to move back with her mother to flee the violence. The individual accrued debt which was passed on to the defendant.

"It just built and increased and became unmanageable. It was desperation.

"The defendant is truly sorry for what she has done. She had issues with gambling.

"She has been advised to declare herself bankrupt - at the moment, the defendant has nothing.

"She has had serious mental health issues which have deteriorated over the last few months."

McGarity admitted fraud by abuse of position. She was jailed for two years and eight months and handed a restraining order preventing her from contacting Ms Jones for 10 years.

She blew a kiss to family members in the public gallery as she was led down to the cells.

Sentencing, Judge David Swinnerton said: "The offence pretty much speaks for itself. You were a family member Joan could trust to look after her - how wrong they were.

"Despite being a family member, you were not deserving of any trust at all. This money, it would appear, has gone on gambling.

"She ended up in arrears and was at risk of being evicted from her home. That is the position you put her in.

"You knew full well you were risking your grandmother's home in doing what you were doing. She was being threatened with enforcement action, bailiffs coming round and taking her property."