Man jailed for con worth £160,000

Wednesday, 2 August 2017 07:00

A man who conned an elderly woman out of £160,000 has been jailed.

John Edward Burke, a 74-year-old from Altrincham, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Between 2007 and 2012, Burke had befriended and gained the trust of his victim, an 83-year-old woman, who lives in Warrington. She became dependent on him to manage her finances and also had customer authority to access and speak to the banks on the victim’s behalf without her being present.

Burke persuaded her to give him cheques, on the promise of a good return on her investment and a repayment of capital after a set period of 7-10 years. During the five years he stole £160,000 from her, to fund a lifestyle in which he leased a new Mercedes.

Burke’s actions came to light when a family solicitor and financial advisor expressed concern about the lack of paperwork and lack of interest payments being made in respect of these ‘investments’.

In January 2015 Burke was arrested following a warrant at his home.

He was sentenced yesterday, 1 August, to 33 months in prison.

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