A MAN who ‘plundered’ thousands from the bank account of a disabled elderly man he had been trusted to help has been sent to prison for two years.

Adrian Watkiss, 42, was told what he had done was ‘disgraceful’ by a judge delivering his sentence at Hereford Crown Court last week, having already pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud before city magistrates in December last year.

Duncan Craig, prosecuting, said the offending began in December 2012 and went on into early January 2015.

The victim, a partially-sighted man in his 70s, had difficulty reading bank statements and had been receiving help from his partner’s daughter – Watkiss’ former partner – who knew his bank details and pin numbers.

However, when she became ill, Watkiss, of Innisfield, Clehonger, took over those responsibilities which included controlling bank cards and doing shopping on the victim’s behalf.

It was in January 2015 that the victim discovered that a Halifax account he expected to hold £40,000 was ‘fairly threadbare’. He spoke with Watkiss who told him to leave the matter to him and that he would contact police to investigate. However, Watkiss had been using the victim’s money to purchase various items including laptops, a Playstation and a mobile phone.

The victim discovered significant losses in a Halifax account of around £20,000. Watkiss had also written a cheque on another account for £750 and also fraudulently opened a credit card and mobile phone accounts.

The court heard that the total sum of the actual fraud was £29,193 but, factoring in cheques which were forged but not presented or didn’t clear, the total was £37,023.

In a witness statement, the victim said he had never been in debt before and described feeling like ‘a prisoner in his own home’. He had looked upon the defendant as a son-in-law.

Mark Thompson, defending, said Watkiss was ‘deeply shameful’ of what he had done and was a man of previous good character. He had graduated with a degree in IT and up until around six years ago had worked hard in a professional capacity.

Sentencing Watkiss to two years in prison, Recorder Evans said Watkiss had ‘plundered an old man’s bank accounts’ over a two-year period.

“You knew exactly what you were doing,” the judge told Watkiss.

“You were stealing instalments from an old man who couldn’t see what you were actually doing to him and you were using it to fund your own lifestyle.”