Fraudster, 39, stole more than £325,000 from her parents then delivered eulogy at her grandmother’s funeral after secretly draining her £58,000 estate to fund gambling habit
- Clare Roughley, 39, stole more than £325,000 from relatives and patient
- Carer, from Merseyside, secretly drained grandmother’s £58,000 estate
- She then delivered eulogy at her funeral as family listened unaware of deceit
- Roughley pleaded guilty to four counts of theft and one count of fraud
- Fraudster was sentenced to a total of six years by Recorder Imran Shafi QC
Callous carer Clare Roughley, 39, stole more than £325,000 from relatives including her father and a vulnerable woman she was supposed to be looking after
A shameless fraudster who stole more than £325,000 from her parents and patients delivered a eulogy at her grandmother’s funeral despite secretly draining her £58,000 estate to fund her gambling habit, a court was told.
Carer Clare Roughley ‘systematically, ruthlessly and remorselessly’ stole more than £325,000 from relatives including her father and a vulnerable woman she was supposed to be looking after over a six-year period.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how the 39-year-old, of St Helens, Merseyside, took £58,221 from her dementia-suffering grandmother Theresa Leyland’s estate even after her death in 2019 aged 95 – and despite her elderly relative bequeathing Roughley £6,000 in her will.
The mother-of-two then stood in front of friends and family and delivered a eulogy at Mrs Leyland’s funeral, while they listened unaware of her deceit.
Roughley used up all the funds in her estate while her funeral was unpaid for 10 months. It was only ten months later that the family discovered the funeral expenses had not been covered.
The carer used her experience as a bank manager to con her parents Raymond and Delwyn and her grandmother out of their life-savings. She also fraudulently set up a credit card in the name of quadriplegic Jean Almond, for whom she had cared for seven years, and her husband Geoffrey.
Roughley previously pleaded guilty to the theft of £91,437 from her father, £158,735 belonging to her mother, £58,221 belonging to the estate of Mrs Leyland, and £17,220 belonging to Mr and Mrs Almond.
Judge Imran Shafi sentenced Roughley to a total of six years in jail. He told the court that Roughley had ‘attacked’ her grandmother’s ‘dignity even in death’ and had ‘wreaked utter carnage’ upon her victims.
Liverpool Crown Court heard how Roughley, of St Helens, Merseyside, took £58,221 from her dementia-suffering grandmother Theresa Leyland’s estate even after her death in 2019 aged 95 – and despite her elderly relative bequeathing Roughley £6,000 in her will
Liverpool Crown Court heard she targeted her victims over a six-year period to fund her ‘all-consuming gambling addiction’.
Peter Hussey, prosecuting, said she took control of her father Raymond Roughley’s bank account without his knowledge in 2014. She preyed on his vulnerability and lack of financial awareness to consistently deposit his money, he said.
The former council worker, 64, believed his £50,000 life savings and pension schemes meant he could live out his days comfortably and without financial worry.
But his ‘whole world was turned upside down’ as he learned his daughter – whom he trusted completely – had reduced his life savings down to zero, he said in a statement.
Roughley carried on her deceit until her arrest in March 2020 and deposited a total of £91,437.83 out of her father’s bank account, the court was told.
Liverpool Crown Court heard she targeted her victims over a six-year period to fund her ‘all-consuming gambling addiction’
Mr Hussey told the court that during the same period, she also stole £158,738 from her mother Delwyn Roughley’s bank account.
He said: ‘Roughley manipulated her parents’ bank accounts, took advantage of their financial naivety and used her knowledge of the banking system to steal from them. Her parents have found it incredible and devastating that their daughter could do such a thing and their worlds fell apart since the discoveries.’
Both her parents are now on anti-depressants and anxiety tablets as they come to terms with their daughter’s crimes, the court heard.
Roughley also stole from Mrs Almond, 70, who is quadriplegic and suffers from multiple sclerosis. Unable to use her arms, Roughley was entrusted as the only member of the care team to have access to Mrs Almond’s accounts. She syphoned £17,200 from Mrs Almond and created a fake account to deposit a further £8,698 of funds into her own bank.
The court heard Roughley duped two friends and used their PayPal as an additional means to transfer funds from her victim’s accounts to her own.
Jeremy Lasker, defending, said while there was ‘no excuse’ for what Roughley did, the purpose of her actions was ‘not to live a life of luxury but to fund a gambling addiction’.
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