A 46-year-old Forest woman who fleeced her elderly step-grandmother out of £13,000 by using her bank account to make more than 700 purchases on eBay has walked free from court,

Sharon Cecil of The Hawthorns, Lydney, was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court to a 15-months community order and was told to repay half the money she stole.

The court was told that Cecil’s gran, pensioner Eileen Brown had only £9 left in her bank account when the offences came to light because an £800 meals on wheels bill was due.

A subsequent police investigation revealed that Cecil had swindled her elderly relative, aged between 87 and 90 at the time of the offences, out of £13,259.18 over a period of two-years and eight months.

During the pandemic Mrs Brown went to stay with Cecil and her family so that she could be cared for by her step granddaughter as her dementia was getting worse.

Cecil would provide her ongoing care and ensure that she attended her medical appointments, the court heard.

Prosecutor Nicholas Lee explained that the offences were exposed when another step granddaughter, Claire Gurney regained contact with Mrs Brown in January last year.

She visited Mrs Brown, who had by then returned to her own home, to check on her.

Mr Lee said: “While Ms Gurney was cleaning up, Cecil also arrived and Ms Gurney asked her where all the bank statements were? Cecil said she did not know.

“Ms Gurney then went into the local bank branch and got a mini statement. She was extremely surprised that Mrs Brown only had £9 left in her account. The bank staff told Ms Gurney that the statements were being sent to Cecil’s home address.

“The bank staff also stated that hundreds of small on-line transactions had been made on the account and suggested that this activity should be reported to the police.”

The police investigated the fraudulent activity and found in excess of 700 eBay purchases that had been made on Mrs Brown’s account which totalled £13,259.18.

Ms Gurney told the police that Mrs Brown was not computer literate and did not own a mobile phone so she could not have made these purchases.

The court was told that most of the items purchased from eBay were less than £20 in value and included clothes, handbags, toys, trinkets and ornaments.

Judge Rupert Lowe observed: “That is effectively one purchase a day for the whole of that time period.”

Brown denied any knowledge of what had happened to Mrs Brown’s bank card in her police interview and any payments made on it.

She explained that the redirection of her step grandmother’s bank statements had been made while she was living with her and had never been corrected when she moved back home.

Ms Gurney told the court in a statement, on behalf of the rest of the family: “Eileen (Nan) would not have been aware that Cecil was using her bank account and making purchase on an online market place. She was suffering from dementia.”

The family statement added: “She would have been devastated to know that the woman caring for her, was also fleecing her account.

“The whole situation has left me feeling angry and sad that my beloved grandmother was left in her home without sufficient care and that the person providing her care was not fulfilling her duty, and was stealing a huge amount of money from her, for her own benefit.

Mr Lee concluded: “The victim was vulnerable and Cecil she took advantage of her position and this was effectively an abuse of trust. 

Cecil claimed she was not entitled to legal aid, told Judge Rupert Lowe that she couldn’t afford legal representation.

Judge Lowe quizzed Cecil and asked: “Where are all the 700 items you’ve purchased using Mrs Brown’s money? Do you have any savings?”

Cecil responded: “I don’t know where the items are. I presume they are at home. I’ve never been shown what I bought. Without looking I don’t know what I purchased.”

The judge said in surprise: “You don’t know where they are? You chose them on eBay, you bought them and you say you don’t know what they were. All those clothes, the trinkets, the handbags and whatnot? What are you going to do with them?

Cecil said: “I don’t know. I could sell them and give the money back,” to which the judge asked: “Have you made any arrangements to sell them to give the money back?

Cecil responded, “No, not yet. I’ve had other things on my mind as a family member has been in hospital and has since passed away. I had to deal with numerous hospital appointments.”

Cecil told the court she had a small amount of savings and was on benefits. 

She saod: “I’m really sorry for what I’ve done. I wish I could change things. I did look after my Nan by taking her to all her appointments. I don’t believe I am a beneficiary of her will.”

Cecil pleaded guilty to theft of £13,259.18 from Eileen Brown’s bank account between May 1, 2019 and January 31, 2022.

Judge Lowe told Cecil: “I accept that you were involved in a road traffic accident in 1998 in which you were seriously injured and left you partially disabled.

“That however, is no excuse for your disgraceful behaviour against your own step grandmother, someone who you regarded as your Nan.

“It obviously occurred to you that your Nan was suffering badly from advancing dementia would never know if you used her card to make purchases.

“You then got a taste for it. These were not on the whole, very expensive items, most were “less than £20 each. This works out at about one purchase a day over the 32 months using somebody else’s money.

“You have suggested you are innocent because your grandmother was staying with you during lockdown. If you were innocent you would have told the truth. You knew what you were doing.

“Since you’ve been court, you have been trying to justify your actions to others, and yourself. The truth is you were just a thief. You lied at the start and I have not seen any real evidence of remorse from you today.

“This offence was in my view, a breach of trust. There is no evidence that you were not looking after her. But you were stealing from her at the same time.

“The fact you have not made any efforts to resell the items and give back the funds shows that you are not very remorseful.

“I would like to make a compensation order for you to pay the full amount and interest. However I have to be realistic and find a sum that can be paid back within a year.

She was sentenced to a 15-month community order with 20 rehabilitation activity days and ordered her to pay order for £6,600 within a year.