A crooked Renfrew woman who embezzled almost £50,000 from her frail 90-year-old mother and spent it on takeaways and “frivolous” purchases has been jailed.
Margaret Bolland swindled £48,193.49 from her mother’s bank accounts between November 2014 and January 2019.
Bolland, of Afton Drive, was granted power of attorney over her mother Mary’s finances in September 2014 – and alarm bells started ringing within the family when she received a letter from a debt collector.
Yesterday, the wicked 62-year-old was slammed by Sheriff Gillian Craig after she “stripped” cash from the savings accounts while in a “significant position of trust”.
Sheriff Craig blasted: “Your mother had £14,000 in an ISA which more or less immediately disappeared.
“And the lack of insight here concerns me. Stating your mother lived beyond her means is something I simply do not believe.”
Prosecutor Jason Stark previously told Paisley Sheriff Court that Mary has three children – Margaret, Ann and Gerald.
Power of attorney was granted to Ann and Margaret to provide support to Mary due to her “physical incapacity”. The court heard Mary had four accounts in her name with the Bank of Scotland.
Mr Stark explained: “From September 2014 to January 2019, the accused acted as the sole person of full financial control as the only person to have access to the relevant cards and means of access to Mary’s accounts.”
Mr Stark explained how, in October 2018, Gerald was informed by his mother that she had received a letter in the post from a debt collector.
Mr Stark said: “This was regarding an unpaid debt for a mobile phone for £989.08. Mary didn’t own a phone and expressed her concerns to her son, Gerald.
“Mary suspected that the accused had been in her flat while she was attending Falcon House daycare centre as her personal documents had been disturbed and some maybe missing.
“It was also noted here was an unpaid electricity bill from Mary’s provider, Scottish Hydro, of £70.”
Gerald and his wife became concerned about Mary and how she had a lack of energy and motivation to take pride in her appearance upon visiting her – noting her fridge was completely empty.
On October 19, 2018, Gerald text Margaret to arrange a chat to talk about their mother’s bank account. A date was arranged but then cancelled at short notice.
An expert investigator carried out a probe into the “financial affairs” and identified the sum of money missing.
Defence agent Edel McGinty explained her client’s actions have “torn apart” her family.
Ms McGinty added: “Other members of the household greatly benefited from the influx of money. She has £13,000 in a pension fund which is available to be transferred back to her mother.
“She advised the social worker of this who advised to await today’s decision.”
Ms McGinty told how Bolland “stuck her head in the sand” over the matter, stating: “She hasn’t appreciated the excessive amount spent over of a period of time.
“She got out of her depth very, very quickly. She’s not gone and bought something substantial like a car or a holiday, this was consistent spending over a period of time on frivolous things like takeaways, taxis, gaming and gym memberships.
“Not all things she’s had the advantage of but the buck lies with Ms Bolland and she understands that.”
Sentencing, Sheriff Craig said: “In short, you were granted power of attorney; your mother and your siblings placed you in a significant position of trust.
“You acted as the sole person in full financial control, and in absolute trust, you stripped your mother’s bank accounts. The total you embezzled was just shy of £50,000.
“When concerns were raised by your brother, you said it was all gone, so you knew and you stated your mother was living beyond her means, but I think you and others lived beyond your means on your mother’s behalf.
“Your mother didn’t live beyond her means, and I say that because her fridge was empty. I consider this breach of trust to be a significant aggravating factor and I see little remorse.
“Any decent person wouldn’t have to be told to repay the £13,000, you would have just done it. I see no alternative to a custodial sentence.”
Bolland, who turned up to court “prepared” for prison and armed with a bag of belongings, was jailed for 18 months.
Don't miss the latest Renfrewshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter here
