Jail for shameful Shropshire fraudster who stole £100k from elderly woman, taking £15k as she lay dying in hospital
A man who paid himself more than £100,000 for work he was carrying out for an elderly woman in Shropshire has been sentenced to three years in prison.
Simon Appleby, of Letton in Bucknell, south Shropshire, was sentenced at Shrewsbury Crown Court on Monday (December 22) for fraud by false representation.
The court was told how the 40-year-old was a handyman for an elderly woman in south Shropshire from September 2019 until she died in December 2022.
West Mercia Police said that following the woman’s death, her family contacted police to raise concerns about a number of payments made to Appleby that amounted to £102,627 over the 39-month period.
In a statement West Mercia Police said: "During the investigation officers discovered that Appleby met his victim when he was her cleaner.
"In 2019 the company he worked for went bankrupt, but he continued to visit her, carrying out odd jobs, such as painting her garage and changing light bulbs.
"As the victim knew Appleby, she trusted him and allowed him to use her laptop to log into her online banking account to pay himself.
"Appleby made 41 payments to himself, of various amounts, claiming some were for materials he bought to help him carry out odd jobs at her house such as changing her garage door, which was never replaced. However, he was unable to provide any proof of purchases.
"And there was one payment of £15,000 made at 7.56pm on December 12, 2022, an hour before the victim sadly died in hospital.
"Enquiries showed that Appleby visited her in hospital, and upon learning she was unconscious let himself into her house to carry out the transaction.
"Appleby was charged with fraud by false representation, and he pleaded guilty to the charge in August 2024."
Detective Constable Emily Cooke said: “I welcome the sentence given to Appleby, whose actions were a shameful abuse of trust, targeting a vulnerable woman who relied on him for help and support.
“Appleby knowingly exploited that trust for personal gain, and to take more than £100,000 from her over an extended period, was deeply dishonest and morally inexcusable.
“What he did was calculated, carried out against someone who believed he was acting in her best interests. The fact that he continued to pay himself even as she lay unconscious in hospital shows the extent of his deceit.
“I want to commend the victim’s family for coming forward and reporting their concerns to police.
“I hope this sentence sends a clear message [to] those who exploit vulnerable people for financial gain, that we will investigate and put them before the courts.”
