Swindon solicitor who stole from vulnerable victims jailed

Alison Griffiths admitted two counts of fraud by abuse of position

A solicitor has been jailed after stealing tens of thousands of pounds from two vulnerable people.

Alison Griffiths, of Stratton in Swindon, took money from a 94-year-old woman and an 80-year-old man who she had power of attorney for.

She pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position.

The 55-year-old was sentenced to 24 months in prison at Swindon Crown Court earlier.

The court was told Griffiths transferred money from the 94-year-old's account to her own between December 2018 and February 2021.

She also used the victim's account to withdraw substantial sums of cash from an ATM. She stole £49,000 from her in total.

Griffiths was reported to police in April 2021 after admitting the theft to her employer.

While investigating the offence, Wiltshire Police received a second report of fraud by Griffiths, relating to an 80-year-old man who has since died.

Griffiths admitted she had transferred around £35,000 from the man's account into her own between May 2020 and September 2021.

'Abused their trust'

The offence was reported to police after the victim's care provider informed his family they had been unable to take payment for his care due to insufficient funds in his account.

Wiltshire Police Det Con Dominic Maidment said fraud "can and does devastate families".

He added: "As power of attorney, Griffiths was expected to safeguard the finances of the victims and act on their behalf in their best interests.

"Instead, she has abused their trust by transferring significant sums of money from their accounts into hers, meaning that in one of the cases, there was no money to pay for the victim's care."