No further action for neighbour accused of fraud

Case study summary

Mary Monson Solicitors were instructed on behalf of a mother accused of fraud by abuse of position of trust. The allegations concerned an abuse of power of attorney and management of a vulnerable person's finances. The police took no further action after 9 months.

Case study

Our client was accused of abusing her position as power of attorney over her neighbour's assets. In reality she was a good Samaritan who helped her neighbour with the management of her finances. After her elderly father had passed away the neighbour was unable to manage alone and our client provided day to day assistance when the local authority had failed to provide the support that was needed.

In addition to managing her finances, she also took her on days out, and spent quite a sum of her own money on these occasions. Over time the two became friends, and our client considered it her Christian duty to look after her friend often to the expense of the attention she was able to give to her own family. The suggestion she had behaved in any way immoral was of great distress to her, not least because she had made significant personal sacrifices.

We took very detailed instructions regarding numerous allegations and it transpired that our client did not have power of attorney in any event. She did assist with finances but not in an official capacity, and was just doing the best she could to help her neighbour who otherwise was unsupported in the community or by extended family.

Our client was deeply distressed by the allegations and the investigation was taking a toll on her mental health. Once we were instructed we remained in regular contact with the officer in the case, ensuring that the investigation progressed efficiently and in good time. Following an analysis of bank accounts, the matter was dropped by the police, and our client was overwhelmed with relief.