Man defrauded his infirm wife

Jail sentence‘likely’for scoundrel

A callous husband is behind bars after embezzling £150,000 from the sick wife he cared for.

Greedy Bernard Houston, 53, squandered the woman’s cash at gaming arcades when she suffered a brain aneurysm – just weeks after they married.

When her concerned family questioned the deterioration in her quality of life and changes to her appearance they were told the money was “none of their business”.

Eventually, the woman’s family discovered credit card and loan applications, as well as bank statements in her name that he had “concealed” where she couldn’t reach them.

Houston, from Castlemilk, represented himself when he pled guilty at the Sheriff Court to embezzling £150,000 between 2010 and 2014.

He also admitted a further four fraud charges of obtaining £11,500 in her name, and attempting to get another £200.

Former care home worker Houston was jailed in 2006 for two months for stealing £2800 from an 85-year-old with dementia – to gamble with.

Houston and his wife began a relationship in 2009 before marrying the following year.

Procurator fiscal depute Richard Hill said: “Mrs Houston was employed as a nurse and had substantial savings and assets including previous investments and was a home owner.

“On June 28, 2010, Mrs Houston suffered a brain aneurysm from which she was hospitalised, entered into a coma and placed on a ventilator.”

She got out on October 15 that year, having regained some “basic functions” including walking and talking.

Houston, who had been unemployed, was her carer from that date onwards for £60 a week.

The court heard the victim received a payment of £50,376 from the NHS, as well as around £1200 of pension payments a month, directly into her account.

Over the period of the charges, her family became suspicious and believed Houston was using her to get money.

They noticed a deterioration in her quality of life with “noticeable changes to her personal appearance and upkeep of her house”.

And they made repeated requests to see bank statements but Houston told them, via his wife, “that the money was none of their business”.

Eventually, in December 2015, Houston was taken into hospital and the woman’s family took the opportunity to help her check her bank statements.

Mr Hill added: “It was discovered that almost all of her funds were gone. They discovered numerous credit card, loan applications and bank statements all in (the victim’s) name. These documents were concealed in locations that she was unable to physically access due to her previous injury.”

The matter was reported to the police who uncovered that Houston had withdrawn around £150,000 and had transferred £3815 to his daughter.

When questioned by police he initially denied taking any money then admitted that he had “gambled away” the cash on gaming machines at amusement arcades.

He also said he set up online banking, transferred and withdrew money from his wife’s accounts and made fraudulent credit card and loan applications in her name.

The court heard that the banks have repaid around £96,000 of the money to Mrs Houston. Sheriff John McCormick told Houston “a custodial sentence is likely” and remanded him, to be sentenced next month.

It was discovered that almost all of her funds were gone.