Deaf News: Man steals £40,000 from his deaf mother

A man from Tewkesbury has been jailed for stealing over £40,000 from his own mother, who is almost completely deaf.

Simon Crutchley conned his own elderly mother, Joan, out of the money and used it to pay off his own debts. He told his mother that he was ‘looking after’ her finances, but was in fact destroying her bank statements and preventing carers from opening her post.

The pair had only recently been reconciled after more than ten years of estrangement. Mrs. Crutchley had contacted her son in 2010 after she became ill.

Crutchley fraudulently withdrew the money four times over several months, resulting in him stealing more than £42,700 from her.  He used this to help pay off credit card and loan debts, as well as his mortgage.

Jailing him for 16 months at Wolverhampton Crown Court, Judge Martin Walsh said;

‘She was extremely vulnerable. These offences are so serious they cross the custody threshold.’

The prosecution team said; “This money was essentially Mrs Crutchley’s life savings which she was using to pay for her car, and she wanted to stay in her own home.”

The defence said; “He lost his job and his outgoings exceeded his income. He took advantage of her and is ashamed of the way he behaved.”

By Emily Howlett

Read more here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2661582/Son-stole-40-000-deaf-mothers-life-savings-pretending-looking-finances-jailed.html?ITO=1490&ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490