Family betrayal: Sibling feud sparks bank fraud

A man has dodged a jail sentence after a bitter sibling feud spurred him to siphon $41,000 from his vulnerable mother’s accounts.

Ian Michael Taylor, 49, was instead sentenced to seven months’ home detention for abusing his role as her power of attorney and property manager between 2016 and 2017.

His sister, Karen Shaw, fought back tears as she told the Palmerston North District Court yesterday about the impact of his betrayal on the family.

They had tried to reconcile matters privately, but Taylor left them with no option than to take him to court.

He was eventually found guilty of eight charges of fraud after a trial last year.

The offending began in April 2016, when Taylor and his brother were appointed to look after their mother’s estate. She had been diagnosed with dementia, a condition that deteriorated after her husband died in 2014.

Taylor used her debit cards to withdraw $34,000 cash. He also purchased fast food, petrol, groceries, tobacco, concert tickets, merchandise and alcohol.

The ensuing legal fees cost about $35,000.

The offending forced the family to sell their mother’s home, which was generating rental income while she resided in a rest home.

Meanwhile, Taylor’s mother does not have the mental capacity to understand the damage caused by her son.

Shaw told the court her parents moved to New Zealand in 1961.

Her father was evacuated from London during the Blitz in World War II, while her mother sought refuge in bomb shelters.

The move wasn’t easy and their first Christmas was spent eating Weet-bix.

They were allocated a state house in Palmerston North and, eventually, saved enough money for a home of their own.

Shaw recalls her father stockpiling food, which he had done since the war concluded.

‘‘They both worked very hard for the life we had,’’ she told the court. ‘‘It wasn’t easy reporting what Ian had done, someone I had shared a bedroom with until I was 5.

‘‘She was as vulnerable as a child. It was the last resort.’’

Taylor taunted Shaw while the case was before the courts by doing burnouts with his car outside her home.

Judge Lance Rowe said Taylor’s relationship with his siblings became combative and worsened following the death of their father.

He didn’t want other siblings inheriting the money, so he spent it himself.

Rowe said Taylor would be sent to prison if he breached the home detention sentence. The court did not impose an order for reparation because Taylor was unable to repay the money.