A judge has lambasted a police force after an "absolutely disgraceful" gaffe jeopardised an elderly fraud victim's compensation. Swansea Crown Court heard an officer had miscalculated the amount stolen from 89-year-old William Jones by senior employees of the care home where the pensioner was living.
Claire Harding was manager and Kelly Jones assistant manager at the Haven home in Llanelli when they defrauded the vulnerable disabled man of £31,912 over several months. The pair were handed suspended prison sentences.
Judge's rebuke over miscalculation
During the hearing Judge Huw Rees launched into a scathing rebuke of Dyfed-Powys Police after learning an officer had understated the amount stolen by £3,912. He has demanded the force review how the "pitiful" blunder happened.
Moments before the defendants were sentenced prosecutor Harry Dickens revealed they had pleaded guilty to a fraud charge that incorrectly stated they had stolen only £28,000. Weeks before their sentencing the pair had repaid that amount to the victim.
Mr Dickens said financial investigator Rhiannon Evans had raised the issue of a miscalculation by a Dyfed-Powys Police officer. The value of the 10 fraudulent cheques at the centre of the case had been incorrectly added up, the court heard.
The prosecutor asked that the defendants each pay £1,956 to cover the shortfall. However he admitted he was expecting their lawyers to oppose further payments "given the way the figure came to light".
It turned out both defendants were willing to pay the outstanding amounts. Harding, 34, was drawing on her grandfather's savings while Jones, 45, was relying on her benefits, the court heard.
'Sloppiness needs to stop'
But Judge Rees questioned how the force had "failed to make simple arithmetic calculations" in a case of such seriousness which involved just 10 cheques – particularly given it had taken almost two years to bring the case to court, a delay described by the judge as "considerable and unexplained".
"This sloppiness needs to stop, doesn't it, from Dyfed-Powys Police," he said. "It is absolutely disgraceful that in a financially-motivated case they cannot add up simple sums. Dyfed-Powys Police really need to get their act together."
The force told WalesOnline the issue "is being reviewed on request of the judge" and it will be able to provide a comment after the review has concluded and the judge has received the outcome.
How the fraud unfolded
The sentencing heard Mr Jones would sign a cheque each month to cover his care home fees but would leave most of it blank because he found it difficult to write having suffered a mini-stroke the previous year. He would give the cheques to Claire Harding and Kelly Jones who told him they were happy to fill them out “as a favour”.
"This was a case of staff members taking money intended to be paid to the care home itself," said prosecutor Harry Dickens. "The victim assumed they were being made payable to the correct people."
The court heard Harding had been employed by the care home for 13 years and Kelly Jones for one year. The victim, now 91, was at the time an “inherently vulnerable” 89-year-old who was paralysed in part of his lower body, said the prosecutor.
Mr Jones had only been a resident of Haven for a few months when the con began around March 2024. In total there were 10 fraudulent cheques with a total of £31,912 stolen.
In October of that year Mr Jones received a call from his bank, Santander, about an issue with a cheque. “That issue wasn’t related to this matter but the bank also told him about a number of cheques made to a Kelly Jones,” said the prosecutor.
Realising he had been defrauded the pensioner contacted a friend who in turn alerted the care home.
Mr Dickens said: “When the defendants were asked about it they exchanged messages and Harding said she was going to ‘grovel like hell’. They both knew the game was up.”
Jones texted an apology to Haven claiming she had been “facing money issues at home”. She alleged Harding had been the one who wrote the cheques.
Both women lost their jobs and pleaded guilty to fraud. They have each paid back £14,000 and will between them return the remaining £3,912 over the coming weeks, the court heard.
Background of defendants
Jones, of Cedric Street in Llanelli, had a record of four previous offences, all linked to an aggravated vehicle-taking case in 2007.
Harding, of Caroline Street in Llanelli, had no previous offences and had worked “for most of her adult life”, said her barrister Dean Pulling. “She is mother to a 12-month-old baby and stepmother to a 16-year-old daughter who recently sat her GCSEs,” he added. “The money was spent clearing debts, mainly those of her brother, which were being collected by some unsavoury characters, but also her own debts. She is beside herself with remorse and has thought of little else in two years. It is the last thing she thinks about when she goes to bed and the first in the morning. She finds it hard to believe she committed the offence but commit it she did.”
The court heard Harding was on benefits but had been paying back the money from her grandfather’s savings.
Ian Ibrahim, for Kelly Jones, said his client was also on benefits and in a position to return the stolen money. He told the court she was “ashamed” of her actions. “When she was charged the details appeared quickly on social media leading to threats and vile comments,” he added. "At one point she was attacked by two women while taking her son to school."
Mr Ibrahim also told the court she experienced a traumatic childhood plagued by domestic abuse. She has caring responsibilities for her mother, who has serious health issues, and her son, who has ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), he added.
Sentencing
Judge Rees said Mr Jones had suffered “scandalous treatment in the twilight of his life” at the hands of women who were meant to be caring for him. He imposed on both defendants a 12-month jail term suspended for 18 months, 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and 180 hours of unpaid work.
