Addict swindled neighbour, 92, out of £10k savings
CRUEL CONMAN BEFRIENDED ELDERLY MAN THEN STOLE FROM HIM
A CALLOUS drug addict swindled his “vulnerable” 92-year-old neighbour out of more than £10,000.
Matthew Coons, of Bath Street, Derby, befriended the elderly victim, who could speak very little English and had no friends or family in the UK, before taking most of the money from a bank account.
A DRUG addict who befriended his 92-year-old Derby neighbour went on to swindle him out of more than £10,000 in five months.
The victim had no family or friends in the UK, spoke very little English and struggled to get about due to being disabled.
Callous Matthew Coons offered to help and support him, running errands, doing his shopping and built up so much trust, he was allowed access to his victim’s bank card.
The 46-year-old went on to make transactions between March and August last year, totalling £10,440, which he used to buy drugs.
Derby Crown Court heard that by the time Coons was caught, the victim, who has since moved away, had just £169 in that account, although he also had another account which had not been tampered with by Coons.
Judge Martin Hurst, who presided over the case, described Coons’ actions as being “as bad as it gets” and handed him an immediate custodial sentence.
He said: “You are 46, you have previous convictions for violence, dishonestly and drugs. You lived in the same block of flats as your victim who was a 92-year-old man. He hails from Eastern Europe, he has no relatives here and he is described by the crown as an extremely vulnerable elderly man.
“You first desired to help him, running messages, errands and getting shopping. Within a short period of time he was prepared to let you use his bank card to get his shopping.
“In August there was £169 in his account. You had raked that account in breach of trust to fund your drug habit. The victim told police you had been shopping for him and withdrew £250. Police went to his flat expecting to see a mountain of groceries and they found two tins of Spam.
“The officer should be commended for investigating [what had been going on].
“I accept you express genuine remorse and you pleaded guilty. The fact that this was a genuine friendship makes the breach of trust all the more heinous. [It is] as bad as it gets.”
The court heard the offending began in March 2019.
Noel Philo, prosecuting, said: “He [the victim] is disabled, his English is not at all good, he has difficulties communicating with other people, going to the shops and pharmacy for prescriptions.
“The defendant befriended him. He started off by helping him with shopping, but then graduated to going to do shopping for him and collecting his prescriptions for him.
“In order to do the shopping at first the victim gave him money. Then the victim gave him his card and his pin number for him to do shopping.”
The court heard the day before he was arrested in August, Coons had withdrawn £250 to do the shopping.
Mr Philo said: “It is clear any amount of that spent on shopping the victim would have had a full larder the following day. In fact the victim had two tins of Spam.” The victim alerted police after finding a second-hand mobility scooter in his flat. Officers began to investigate. The court heard how Coons withdrew £1,000 on one occasion and £600 on another. The hearing revealed he was using the money to buy drugs.
In February the victim had £12,000 in his account and by August 2019, he had just £169. Coons took a total of £10,440 from March to August.
Mr Philo said: “He [the victim] was particularly vulnerable because he had a complete lack of any support in the community and his disability stopped him from getting about.”
Justin Ablott, mitigating, told the court Coons pleaded guilty before the magistrates court at his first appearance and said he should get full credit for the “sensible approach”.
He said: “He has expressed remorse for the way in which he has behaved. He knows the court and the general public take a serious view of the facts been presented to your honour. He is ashamed of himself.
“I acknowledge the breach of trust. It’s right to say he isn’t a stranger to the courts and I hope you will see he has been out of trouble for a significant period of time.”
The court heard how he had a significant heroin addiction and he had been able to deal with it, but following the death of his grandmother he had returned to it.
Mr Ablott said: “Things got on top of him and he returned to drug use. He was astonished by the valuation of the fraud. He described his arrest and interview by the police as a real wake-up call for him. The drug problem remains a problem for him.”
Coons, of Rivermead House, Bath Street, Derby, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud at a previous hearing. Judge Hurst jailed him for 20 months.
The fact that this was a genuine friendship makes the breach of trust all the more heinous. [It is] as bad as it gets. Judge Martin Hurst