Husband and wife in plot to steal £230,000

A SON plotted with his wife to defraud his mother out of £230,000 by falsely claiming she was suffering from dementia.

Maninder Sambi also subjected his elderly mother to a vicious beating and exchanged text messages with his partner saying they “hoped that she would die”.

Maninder and his wife, Navjot Sambi, were jailed for a total of more than seven years after a court heard the pair cynically exploited Bhajan Sambi when she was suffering from depression.

A jury at Leeds Crown Court were told the couple set about “portraying to the world” that Mrs Sambi was instead suffering from dementia.

During the deception they forged a letter purporting to be from an Indian hospital which stated she was suffering from the debilitating condition.

They also committed fraud by taking out a £100,000 critical illness insurance policy against Mrs Sambi before claiming she had dementia.

The court heard Mrs Sambi suffered a “cascade of bereavements” during 2009 and 2010 which led her to receiving treatment for depression.

Those bereavements left her in possession of a home which had equity of around £230,000.

A judge who jailed the couple said they began a deliberate process of “belittling and assaulting” her good name.

Maninder was then able to obtain power of attorney over his mother’s financial affairs.

He abused that power to set about buying a new home for himself and his wife.

Jurors also heard how the couple deliberately isolated Mrs Sambi by monitoring and hacking into her social media accounts.

In April 2016, Maninder subjected his mother to a repeated assault by punching her and banging her head against a door.

Maninder and Navjot, both aged 34 and both of Carr Manor Road, Leeds, were found guilty of conspiracy to steal, fraud and forgery after a three-week trial.

Maninder was also found guilty of assault occasioning actual bodily harm.

Jailing the pair, Judge Robin Mairs said: “You knew she was vulnerable and you preyed on that vulnerability.”