Accusation of Fraud by Abuse of Position- Case Dropped

Case study summary

Our client was caring for her auntie, and, upon her death, had been accused by family members of taking a large sum of money from her account and not honouring her wishes. Our specialist lawyers ensured that the case was dropped.

Case study

Our client was an elderly woman who had been caring for her auntie for a number of years before her death. The auntie’s will stipulated that a portion of her remaining assets should be given to our client's sister and the remainder was to go to our client.

Our client's sister disputed this and contacted the police, accusing our client of abusing her position as a carer in order to ensure that she benefitted from their auntie's will more than anyone else. She alleged that our client had also taken significant sums of money from the bank account while their auntie was still alive.

The police subsequently asked our client to attend a voluntary interview at Bolton Police Station. Terrified at the prospect of a court case, our client contacted our specialist fraud lawyers to assist her. She explained that she had only taken money from her auntie’s account on her behalf and when she had asked her to do so. Regarding the situation with the will, she denied any manipulation and provided us with the copy of the will as proof of this. It was clear that the family was envious that our client had been left the money and were trying their upmost to hurt her credibility.

During the interview, we advanced a detailed prepared statement denying the alleged offences and providing bank statements along with a copy of the will to show that these allegations were baseless. Following the interview, the police realised they did not have the necessary evidence to prosecute our client and dropped their investigation.

Our client was able to move on with her life and mourn her family member's death without the worry of a criminal prosecution hanging over her head.