Daniel Cuthbert, aged 42, targeted his father, who lived in Northamptonshire, over a period of 14 months in 2017-18 by moving large sums of money out of his account, in one case his father’s entire redundancy pay-out.
Preston Crown Court was told Cuthbert made multiple telephone banking calls purporting to be his father, and on at least nine occasions also rang to make transfers while putting on a female voice and pretending to be his mother who had died a few months before the fraud began.
The court heard Cuthbert made eight separate calls after his mother’s death, purporting to be her, and leading to a total of £9,000 being transferred into his account.
In addition, Cuthbert, formerly of Warwick Avenue, Stanion, drew up loans in his father’s name, settlements the victim was unaware of and which led to him eventually losing his house as a result of the amassed debts.
An investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Volume Fraud team revealed the victim had first noticed suspicious activity in mid-2017 and confronted his son, but chose to believe him as he was still recovering from the loss of his wife.
However, he received a visit from a building society in early 2018 and was told he was going to lose his house due to debt arrears which he knew nothing about.
In addition to the custodial sentence of two years, Cuthbert, who admitted fraud by false representation, was issued with a five-year restraining order.
