Fraudster ‘groomed’ 90-year-old to steal £25k...but walks free
A CON woman ‘groomed’ a 90-yearold woman to steal £25,000.
Sophie Peach, 45, befriended her vulnerable victim before spending her money on a honeymoon and other exotic holidays.
The deception was said to have had a significant impact on Ella McIvor, who died shortly after the fraud was discovered.
But Peach was allowed to walk free from Perth Sheriff Court yesterday, despite a sheriff describing her actions as ‘cynical and exploitative’.
She was ordered to carry out 300 hours of unpaid work and to be electronically tagged between 8am and 8pm for the next 12 months. Peach, from Perth, was also placed on social work supervision for a year and banned from taking on employment without social work approval.
Sheriff William Wood said he was not jailing her because she was a first offender, had repaid the money and had family issues looking after her children.
But outside the court, Miss McIvor’s niece Fiona Gourlay, 71, from Perth, said: ‘The sentence wasn’t severe enough – she should have gone to jail. She definitely groomed my aunt over a period of time. We kind of suspected that she was trying to charm money out of Ella.
‘But we didn’t think she would have gone to the extent she did to steal it. She was swanning off, getting married and going on holidays.
‘Ella’s personality changed from being mentally confident to ending up a very insecure and fragile person – and she kind of gave up on life.’
The court heard Peach duped bank staff by putting on the voice of a frail elderly lady on the phone in order to set up internet banking.
She spent more than £3,000 on a honeymoon to Greece and also jetted off to Vietnam, Cyprus, Croatia and Spain.
Miss McIvor died in July last year, shortly after finding out about the fraud. Peach, who ran a business called There For You, also tried to bribe friend Lorna Stewart with £10,000 to back her lies.
Peach admitted obtaining £25,132.25 by fraud between February 11 and July 3, 2017.
She admitted pretending to be the Perth pensioner to gain access to her money and to set up online banking.
Peach also admitted she tried to induce Miss Stewart falsely to testify that Miss McIvor had gifted her £20,000 to pay for her wedding.
That took place after Peach had first appeared in court and been freed on bail.