Woman stole almost £3,000 from her own grandmother after she moved into care home

A woman was defrauded by her own granddaughter after she was diagnosed with dementia and moved into a care home.

Gemma Jones, 31, stole £2,746 from her grandmother, Gwynfa Jones, over the course of seven months, Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard.

She began making transactions from her grandmother's bank account just days after she moved to a care home on 23 March 2018.

The court heard Jones had spent the money on clothing, household items, rent, and takeaways.

The fraud came to light when the victim's son, Ian Jones, went to his mother's house to collect mail in October 2018. 

He discovered that a number of payments had been made from her HSBC account which did not stack up. The matter was reported to HSBC and further transactions were restricted. 

The police were contacted in January 2019 and it was established Gemma Jones was responsible for taking the money from her grandmother's account.

The defendant was arrested in February 2020 and denied she had stolen the money from her grandmother, with whom she said she had a good relationship, claiming the spending had been done with her permission. 

Mrs Jones, who has since died, was left unable to pay her care home fees, was forced to move to another care home, and her house was sold in order to pay off debt as a result of the theft.

Gemma Jones, of Heol Dewi Sant, Bettws, Bridgend, who has no previous convictions, later pleaded guilty to fraud.

Bethan Evans, prosecuting, said the offence involved the breach of a high degree of trust and a vulnerable victim. 

In a victim personal statement read out to the court, Ian Jones said: "My mother was always a strong independent woman and enjoyed her freedom. To see her vulnerable and weak in the last years of her life was heartbreaking. 

"What made it worse was a family member given a position of trust abused it so badly. It was heartbreaking for me... Little did I know Gemma would would take advantage of the vulnerability she displayed and whittled away all of my mother's reserves... I felt so guilty."

Mr Jones said items of sentimental value and the victim's will had been taken by the defendant and she had been named as a beneficiary. He said Gemma Jones had managed to change her bail conditions to be able to see Mrs Jones in hospital before she died, which contributed to their distress. 

Mr Jones added: "I was robbed of the chance to grieve. I struggle to think of my mum without thinking of the pain."

Georgina Buckley, mitigating, acknowledged the custody threshold was passed in her client's case but argued her sentence could be suspended. 

She said the defendant was training to be a nurse but would no longer be able to pursue nursing as a career due to her conviction. The barrister said Gemma Jones has two young children who would be affected if she was sent to prison immediately.

Gemma Jones was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. She was also ordered to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.

Sentencing, Recorder Carl Harrison said: "Cynically, from your own greed, you took advantage of [Mrs Jones] when she was at her most vulnerable... You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself for what you have done... If I were to send you to prison, which you richly deserve, there would be another victim as a result of your greed."

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