Stephen Tomes, 60, of Poole Road, was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 21 January after pleading guilty to defrauding his elderly aunt.

He had pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing at Poole Magistrates’ Court.

He was sentenced to 20 months in prison, suspended for two years, with a requirement to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work in the community as well as to take part in a rehabilitation activity programme. Tomes was also ordered to pay £400 in costs.

Dorset Police received a referral from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) in August 2017 following concerns raised over the defendant abusing his position after he became legal deputy to his elderly aunt in June 2015. His aunt, who was aged in her 80s, had been suffering from cognitive impairment from the end of 2014 and was no longer able to manager her own financial affairs.

Tomes had his power of attorney terminated in December 2017 following an application by the OPG. His aunt died in July 2019.

An investigation carried out by Dorset Police, with support from the OPG, revealed that between January 2015 and the end of 2017, the defendant abused his position to defraud his elderly relative to the value of more than £35,000.

Tomes obtained funds from the victim’s bank accounts, either by withdrawing cash or making cheque payments to himself and also used her debit cards for payments that investigators could find no evidence of being in the interests of his aunt.

A number of payments were made while he was out of the county and the financial investigation also revealed cash being paid into the defendant’s bank account on the same day it was withdrawn from the victim’s account.

Detective Sergeant Will Burnett, of Dorset Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “Deputyships help ensure some of the most vulnerable in our society can be looked after when they are no longer able to do so themselves.

“However, these tools are dependent on the people in those roles being honest in their actions and only spending money on things which are in the best interests of that vulnerable individual.

“If a relative or friend is applying for this role, it is important they fully understand what is required. A candid discussion with a professional legal advisor about the relationship between a prospective deputy and the vulnerable individual will assist in making sure that they are indeed appropriate to act as a deputy and know the responsibilities this entails.

“Abuse of this position is a serious matter which, as can be seen in this case, will result in a criminal conviction for fraud.”

An Office of the Public Guardian spokesperson said: “This was an egregious abuse of trust and we are pleased our investigation helped ensure Mr Tomes was rightly punished for his despicable actions.

“Cases of deputyship fraud are thankfully very rare but when they occur we will do everything we can to assist the police and prosecutors.”