Brother kept sister’s windfall
Executor kept funds for himself
A MAN entrusted to act as executor of his stepfather’s will ignored his deceased parent’s wishes and kept all the money in the estate for himself, a court has heard.
When Dennis Hicks died, his instructions were that the almost £24,000 he left behind should be split equally between his stepchildren, Ron Savory and his sister Ivy, minus what was owed in nursing home fees.
But Savory ignored those wishes “out of spite” and spent the money on himself.
A judge told the 58-yearold defendant that if he were not ashamed of his actions he should be.
Swansea Crown Court heard Mr Savory’s stepdad died in May 2016, leaving £23,890 in his will, and that he had named the defendant as the executor in charge of his affairs.
Sian Cutter, prosecuting, said Mr Hicks’s instructions were that the money should be split equally between the two siblings.
The court also heard there was a bill of just over £5,200 owing to a care home in Dorset where Mr Hicks had been living prior to his death, meaning each sibling was due £9,344.
But Savory paid neither his sister nor the care home and transferred the full amount to his own account and then spent it over the following months.
The court heard Savory’s sister took the matter to the small claims court in an attempt to get what was rightfully hers, and successfully got a court order against him, but bailiffs who went to his house to recover the debt were unable to do so.
Miss Cutter said the police were contacted, and in his interview he acknowledged he had done wrong and said he “could not deny that he wanted it to be hard for my sister to get money”.
The father-of-five said the money had just “dwindled away” over time.
In a victim impact statement, Savory’s sibling said she felt “betrayed” by what had happened.
Savory, of Nant y Dderwen, Drefach, Cross Hands, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position. The court heard he has no previous convictions.
Tom Scapens, for Savory, said the defendant had acted “not out of greed but out of spite” and had disgraced himself and disrespected his parents.
The barrister said his client earns around £60 a week giving guitar lessons.
Judge Paul Thomas QC told Savory the position of executor of a will required somebody to act “absolutely honestly and scrupulously” – something the defendant had not done.
He said: “Let me put his simply – you stole money your sister was entitled to.
“You seem to think acting out of spite is better than acting out of greed.
“I think you acted out of both. If you are not thoroughly ashamed of yourself you should be.”
He added that a number of the letters from people written on the defendant’s behalf were “blatant attempts to put emotional pressure on the court” – attempts that had “backfired”.
Giving Savory a onethird discount for his guilty plea, the judge sentenced him to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, and ordered him to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.