Son stole £1.5m from his mother for London shopping sprees

Jonathan Feld is on trial at Southwark Crown Court after a private prosecution was brought by his sister

A son "plundered" more than £1.5 million from his wealthy elderly mother, leaving her little for her own care, a court has heard.

Jonathan Feld, 62, allegedly moved £1.3m of Hannah Feld's money to a joint Swiss bank account before emptying it into his own account.

Southwark Crown Court heard he also allegedly used her credit cards for shopping sprees in London.

He denies two counts of theft between October 2014 and September 2018.

Mr Feld, of Kilburn, is on trial after a private prosecution was brought by his sister, Louise Radley.

His 89-year-old mother, who retired to Tel Aviv in Israel with her late husband Monty Feld in 1988, was suffering from "significant cognitive decline" at the time of the alleged thefts, a jury was told.

Hannah Feld retired to Tel Aviv in Israel with her husband Monty Feld in 1988

Prosecutor Adam Gersch told jurors the Felds were "quite a wealthy family" with the couple's savings amounting to some $3m (£2.5m) by 2010.

"A staggering sum of over £1.5 million was plundered from Hannah Feld's life savings. She was previously a wealthy woman," he said.

"Both children enjoyed a privileged standard of living, and both received financial assistance from a loan from a family trust to help them buy their respective homes."

The trust was administered by a family solicitor and the Felds were "very particular" with their money and did not give their children financial help in cash, the prosecutor continued.

'Very large sums'

In May 2015 Mr Gersch said "very large sums" were transferred to Mr Feld's own account using complicated international transactions, via Israel or the Isle of Man.

Mr Feld allegedly also made ATM cash withdrawals from his mother's Israeli Bank Leumi account, with the amount of money being taken out increasing when he visited the country.

During a visit to the UK between April and July 2017, Mrs Feld's credit card was used to withdraw almost £10,000 in cash. Goods from Superdry, Geox and the Apple store were also bought, jurors heard.

The trial continues.

Follow BBC London on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail]