Brother Steals More Than $420,000 From Sister With Dementia

A dishonest brother who was granted the responsibility of his dementia-stricken sister's affairs stole more than £300,000 (almost $410,000) from her bank account, leaving her with just £17.50 ($23).

Reports said that an eighty-year-old Grayrigg resident, John Longley, allegedly spent years robbing his defenseless sister's bank account. She was a Grange-over-Sands care home resident who became unable to pay her care home costs after the institution's owners graciously agreed she may stay there until she died, Carlisle Crown Court heard.

Longley, a former hospital driver, had the lasting power of attorney over his sister's finances in 2012 and stole a total of £312,797 ($425,164). Slights moved into her care home in Grange-over-Sands, Cumbria, in 2014. Still, payments to the facility began 'erratic' two years later, according to the court.

Prosecutor Mark Stephenson said per Metro that a series of cheques bounced over the next two years. According to an inquiry, Longley began withdrawing money from his sister's account in March 2013.

The court was told that there were frequent withdrawals totaling hundreds of pounds. According to the court, the money had 'obviously not' been spent on Paula.

The court heard that £394,859 (more than $530,000) had been put into her account over the years from the sale of her house, but that her account only had £17.50 ($23) in it.

The court said the care home was legally paid £153,160 ($208,180). Longley's fraud was worth £312,797 ($425,164) in total, and the care home was left with a £94,770 ($128,814) unpaid charge for her care. According to Stephenson, the local government also contributed to her care, paying £18,428 ($25,047) due to a lack of cash.

In a victim impact statement, the defendant’s brother Michael said of his sister: “It would have been her wish that the money she made through her hard work and careful living was passed on to her grandchildren to help them on with their lives, which we all know will never happen now.”

Longley, on the other hand, accepted full responsibility for his crime, despite the fact that he couldn't explain where the majority of the money had gone. The barrister said the suspect wasn't living the high life, and he is not going to reoffend.