Payback time for the ‘mean and deceitful’ daughter who stole £25,000 from sick mum
WOMAN SPENT MONEY ON LUXURY ITEMS FOR HERSELF
A WOMAN who stole £25,000 from her own mother as she suffered from dementia has been ordered to pay back the money.
Alexandra Marsden was handed a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, on July 30 after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position.
The 48-year-old took thousands of pounds from her vulnerable mother, Yvonne Gow, and spent the money on a car, a new bed and clothes.
But Marsden, of Moorhall, Bakewell, in the Peak District, must now pay back the sum, adjusted for inflation, meaning she must return £26,101.11, which will be largely made up of her inheritance following her mother’s death.
James Moore, prosecuting at Derby Crown Court on Tuesday, December 7, said: “This was a case where the benefit was £25,000. It has been adjusted for inflation and it arrives at £26,101.11.
“Realisable assets are in fact in excess of that, at £41,000. That will be money that will become available when the estate goes through the executors [of her mother’s will].”
Mr Moore added that the money must first be given to Marsden, who had also spent most of £8,000 which was in a savings account, before it is then returned to the Crown.
The size of the inheritance Marsden is due to receive from her mother’s estate was not disclosed in court.
Her acts, described as “mean and deceitful” in court, were discovered by her brother when he tried to buy food using his mother’s credit card then found it was getting declined.
Mrs Gow was diagnosed with dementia after her health began to gradually deteriorate from 2005, and Marsden was then asked to “step up” her level of care by her brother.
When he discovered the problem with Mrs Gow’s card, he sent off for a new one, only for this to also be declined.
It transpired that Marsden had been granted lasting power of attorney over her mother’s affairs without telling anyone else, allowing her to make two large payments of £10,000 each and smaller payments for individual shopping sprees to her own account.
Prosecutors at her sentencing in July told the court that when Marsden was interviewed by the police, she claimed her mother had given the money to her as a “gift” and she had spoken to her beforehand about it, something her mother denied.
She later pleaded guilty on the day of her scheduled trial.
Mitigating for Marsden in July, Jessica Strange said her client had come to accept what she had done was wrong.
“She’s of previous good character,” she said.
“She doesn’t accept that her mother was ever left without food. What has been provided to the court supports that.
“She was extremely close to her mother and it’s something she feels so guilty for.
“She’s upset and I hope your honour finds that to be genuine.
“She will have to live with that for the rest of her life because the opportunity to apologise to her mother has gone.”
At the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing, in December,
Recorder Stuart Sprawson said that the £26,101.11 must be paid back within three months, with nine months in default.
He also made an order that Marsden should pay £250 in costs and a £140 victim surcharge within 28 days.
He said: “I order nine months in default which I think is a fair figure given the circumstances.
“You have enough to cover that figure from the inheritance you are going to receive. You are to pay that within three months of today. If you can’t manage to pay that, then you must apply to the court for an extension.
“I’m going to be overly generous, but I do think something should be paid [in regards of costs].
“In my view, get it paid. I could take something extra over a longer period of time. I’m not going to take the matter any further today. I don’t think that is necessary in a time of increasing hardship and given the rising costs of living.”
Representing Marsden at the POCA hearing, Jeremy Barton said that the defendant could pay a sum of around £40 a month, taking into account income and expenses.