Shropshire Star

Fraudster carer who conned Shropshire pensioner out of £80,000 to pay back JUST £10

Fraudster Susan Weston conned a vulnerable pensioner out of £80,000 – but has been ordered to pay back just £10.

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Susan Weston

The 64-year-old, who was jailed for more than four years in April, has been told she will be freed from prison in May next year.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Shrewsbury Crown Court was told Weston has no income or assets to pay back the money she stole, having spent all the money she duped out of her victim.

Weston, who conned a total of £83,436 out of a 76-year-old Market Drayton widower, was told she has three months to pay the £10.

The hearing was also told that her sentence, of four years and two months, is likely to only lead to 13 months behind bars.

Weston, of Barton's Lane, Market Drayton, appeared via a video link from prison and wearing a grey sweatshirt.

She said "thank you your honour" after being told she must pay back the £10.

Weston targeted the pensioner over a nine-year period, and then even asked him to get the charges dropped when it became clear she was facing court.

Alongside the theft charges Weston also pleaded guilty to fraudulently claiming thousands of pounds of disability living allowance payments, as well as attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Weston had also faced theft charges relating to another Market Drayton pensioner, but he died before the case went to court, with the judge ordering that the charges lie on her file.

Police spoke out after Weston was jailed, revealing how she had approached widowers in a cemetery in an effort to befriend them, gain their trust, and eventually steal from them.

Following her sentence police also said she could have taken as much as £170,000 from her victim, but that they could only trace bank records back for 10 years.

Speaking at the time DC Pauline Newton said: "She would regularly go to a cashpoint and empty the account – taking money just before midnight, and then again just after midnight, so the transactions appeared on separate days."

The victim revealed he had even paid more than £220 for Weston's dog to be cremated. Cheque book stubs showed that more than 300 cheques had been written for cash, regular Chinese meals, beauty products, utility bills for Weston's home, car insurances, car repairs, and a trip to Spain.

When she was sentenced in April Judge Barrie said that the aggravating features of her crimes included the impact on the victim and that Weston had spoken to her victim – and got someone else to speak to him – in an effort to try to get the case against her dropped.

In the wake of Weston's jail sentence detectives appealed for information about anyone else who may have fallen victim to her schemes.

The court heard Weston had spent the money. It is possible for a further court order demanding payment if Weston is found to have the means to pay.

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