Mother ‘f leeced brain-damaged son out of £400k’
A MOTHER fleeced her brain-damaged son out of £ 400,000 in an orgy of spending after he was awarded £1.8million over a car crash, a court heard yesterday.
Teresa Wright, 44, was given control of the finances of her son Michael by the Court of Protection when he suffered a life-changing brain injury.
She is now accused of blowing a huge chunk of his cash on a £100,000 luxury caravan, weekends away and hand-outs to her other children.
Prosecutor Neil King said Mr Wight, now 27, was left with reduced mental capacity after a car crash in June 2007. The compensation was paid into a bank account administered by a court and his mother was appointed to manage his financial affairs.
She oversaw a spending spree by Mr Wright, including £150,000 on an Aston Martin, £20,000 on a motorbike and nearly £700,000 on a house.
But when he decided to invest his final £400,000 in buy-to-let properties he discovered the money was missing, it is alleged. Opening the case at Luton Crown Court, Mr King added: ‘This defendant chose to fraud- ulently take a significant sum from her vulnerable son, when she was supposed to be acting in his best interests.’
Mr King said Mr Wright, after spending substantial sums on the vehicles and house, took control of the Court of Protection bank account when his condition improved.
‘What he discovered shocked him,’ said the lawyer. In September 2012 his mother had allegedly requested £400,000 be withdrawn from the account, claiming it was for investment. But it ended up in her account, it is claimed.
Mr King said: ‘This moving of money between accounts was no doubt an effort to try and hide the trail of what she had dishon- estly done. The withdrawals were not ones that Michael Wright ever authorised.’
Mr Wright was asked in court how much of the £400,000 was spent with his permission and replied: ‘Absolutely nothing.’
Mrs Wright’s barrister, Jason Cross, said any money spent was at her son’s request. He told Mr Wright: ‘You were extravagant when your mother controlled the purse strings.’
The witness replied: ‘No. She controlled me, to be honest.’
Wright, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, denies one count of fraud by abuse of position between September 2012 and May 2016. The trial continues.