Thief who stole dying friend's savings sentenced to two years

Graeme Prance has been sentenced to two years for stealing £60,000 from a friend

A thief has been given a suspended jail term for defrauding his elderly friend of his £60,000 life savings. 

Graeme Prance, 53, took the cash after widower and former Royal Marine Ken Elliott gave him legal control of his finances.

Prance, of Llandaff, Cardiff, had been friends with Mr Elliott for 35 years before he died aged 80 in May 2016.

He was convicted of four counts of fraud at an earlier hearing.

He was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court on Friday to two years in jail, suspended for two years, and ordered to carry out 200 hours unpaid work.

Before sentencing, the judge ensured Prance, a founding member of Cardiff Blues Supporters' Club, had repaid almost £50,000 into a police bank account. £10,000 had already been recovered.

The court heard Prance stole £14,575 from Mr Elliott's Post Office account, £25,469 from his current account and £9,550 from a NatWest account.

Prance also took £10,000 from a shoebox in Mr Elliott's home.

The court heard Prance has one previous conviction for four offences committed in 1993 of theft, obtaining by deception and attempting to obtain by deception.

Prance was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court