Man jailed after stealing £52k from elderly parents

Brett Conway, 66, has been described as "brazen" and "manipulative"

A man who stole almost £52,000 from his elderly parents before bullying them in a bid to get the allegations dropped has been jailed.

Brett Conway claimed the money he withdrew from his parents' account was for mortgage payments and building work on their home, which he owned, but instead spent it paying off debt and going on holidays.

Conway's father had dementia and his mother became so traumatised she had to go into a care home. Both have since died.

Conway, 66, formerly of Bouverie Park in Stanton St Quintin, was jailed for six years and eight months at Swindon Crown Court on Wednesday after two trials by jury.

The court heard Conway took the money out of his parents' joint bank account between December 2017 and June 2018.

His mother challenged him over the missing money and he accepted it was him, but refused to reimburse his parents.

An Wiltshire Police investigation found a lot of the money was used for his £75,000 credit card debt as well as a lifestyle that included multiple holidays abroad a year.

After his arrest, Conway became obsessive and bullied his parents and ex-partner, who had provided a witness statement, in an attempt to get the case dropped.

Det Con Rachael Fairbairn said Conway's "brazen" behaviour made things worse for his victims.

"In desperation, they even told him he could keep all the money if he simply left them alone. He didn't and they realised a criminal investigation was the only way to stop him.

"They couldn't quite believe what was happening and it just went on and on, subjecting his elderly and vulnerable family to a seemingly endless campaign of bullying."

'Manipulative'

Det Con Fairbairn described Conway as a "manipulative individual", and said: "The financial loss in this case, as with many fraud investigations, came second to the emotional trauma he inflicted."

Police said action was under way to recover the money after Conway was found guilty of two counts of theft and one count of perverting the course of justice.