Please advise 85year old victim

[marleymouse]

Following the death of my mother although my father lived seperate from him my brother assisted my father advising him with his general finances, paying bills, organising his car maintenance/insurance etc. this was on an advisory capacity only. In 2008 my brother advised dad to let him do his banking online to save paperwork, my father at 85 has no computer knowledge whatsoever & had no idea letting my brother put him online would give my brother access to all his savings accounts. He trusted him implicitly & there was no POA as dad did not for one moment suspect his son would touch his money but sadly dad recently discovered that his son has completely emptied all his life savings accounts totalling in excess of £52,000 & has even been taking most of dads pension each month which dad thought was going via standing order into savings account.

Upon my dad discovering his loss his son has simply abandoned him. The social services safeguarding team stepped in & a police investigation was iniciated but despite all the damning evidence & the police & social services knowing exactly what has happened there is simply not enough 'without doubt' evidence to proceed with a criminal case, this is despite the obvious transfers & a taped call to the bank of my brother posing as dad. My father has no property or assets & is left penniless apart from his pension so has no funds to pay for a solicitor, he is absolutely devastated that his security has gone it seems there is absolutely nothing at all that he can do about it & his son has nothing to answer for! I have no funds to assists him & have tried to source help for him but there is nothing available. Dads only mistake was to trust his son who has always been dependable. His son does have a property and assets himself.

Can anyone advise what possible options are available for old people who find themselves in this hopeless financial abuse situation please. He would be so grateful for any guidance.

[bluebottle]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Speaking as both a human being and a retired policeman, I am speechless at the way your father has been let down, not only by his son, but the authorities, also.

There is free legal advice available through Law Centres. If there is one near to where your dad lives, see if they can help. Failing this, try the National Pro Bono Centre at www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk who can provide free legal advice and representation. Given the amount of evidence the police have collated, I am not entirely convinced there is insufficient evidence to proceed to charge and prosecution. Get his local MP involved as they may be able to get answers.

[marleymouse]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Speaking as both a human being and a retired policeman, I am speechless at the way your father has been let down, not only by his son, but the authorities, also.

There is free legal advice available through Law Centres. If there is one near to where your dad lives, see if they can help. Failing this, try the National Pro Bono Centre at www.nationalprobonocentre.org.uk who can provide free legal advice and representation. Given the amount of evidence the police have collated, I am not entirely convinced there is insufficient evidence to proceed to charge and prosecution. Get his local MP involved as they may be able to get answers.

Thankyou I have been unsuccessful in finding free legal advice to date despite going to CAB and others for lists of solicitors, all contacts have been fruitless. I will get in touch with MP as you have suggested and see if he can help. I think people have to be referred by another body for pro bono but I will look into that.

Dad is totally devastated about his sons actions but he also feel very let down by the authorities. Apart from a very obvious paper trail my brother lied under police questioning - denying making the call before being played the tape. Dad simply cannot comprehend how someone can do this to another individual & there is absolutely nothing the law can do about it :0(

[bluebottle]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Thankyou I have been unsuccessful in finding free legal advice to date despite going to CAB and others for lists of solicitors, all contacts have been fruitless. I will get in touch with MP as you have suggested and see if he can help. I think people have to be referred by another body for pro bono but I will look into that. The National Pro Bono Centre is a clearing house for cases eligible for pro bono legal advice and representation. The usual criteria is inability to afford legal fees or ineligibility for Legal Aid. I would get in touch with them and see if they can help. Use the link I have provided.

Dad is totally devastated about his sons actions but he also feel very let down by the authorities. Apart from a very obvious paper trail my brother lied under police questioning - denying making the call before being played the tape. Dad simply cannot comprehend how someone can do this to another individual & there is absolutely nothing the law can do about it :0 Is it the CPS who are saying there is insufficient evidence to charge and proceed? They have form for doing this, then, when pressed, will suddenly claim to have made a mistake. I wouldn't let this go and I certainly would not take "No" for an answer. I would be inclined to put some judicious pressure on CPS to give a detailed explanation for their decision. If necessary, use the media as a means of leverage. (

Responses in red text.

[marleymouse]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

It didnt even get to CPS the social services put it forward to police as substanciated, the assigned police investigation officer took it on enthusiatically with all the evidence of huge online transfers from savings direct to brothers account, there was taped call of brother arranging to cash shares posing as my dad, police interviewed brother who lied, clear dad has no access or knowledge of comupters, dad own spending is very modest and consistant & everything else going direct to brothers account. However everything seemed to hinge on there being CCTV of my brother going into the bank alone to get documents verified for a 20k shares withdrawl, no CCTV meant couldnt prove dad didnt go in the bank himself. The police knew there was unlikely to be CCTV from the onset but didnt indicate case hinged on that...it seems everything else & the other 30k is irrelevant. The officer put all evidence to his supervisor who rejected it saying it was dads word against his son who maintained dad just allowed him to take all his money - hard work to prove 'without doubt' element needed for criminal case so end of!

[Amethyst]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Yes your dad would need a referral from cab to go to the pro-bono centre. Are you thinking of taking civil action to reclaim some of this money from your brother?

Can you appeal the polices decision? Surely there's other CCTV , like at cash machines, in the street by the bank and so on?

Have you sent data protection request to the bank for any paperwork there might be?

You might consider making a complaint about the Police's decision or handling of the case to http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/complaints

[CYNthesys]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Referrals to Bar Pro Bono are also accepted from MPs, so it may be a good idea to get in touch with yours.

Also, re Police failing to act have you approached the Police & Crime Commissioner for your area?

[bluebottle]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Yes your dad would need a referral from cab to go to the pro-bono centre. Are you thinking of taking civil action to reclaim some of this money from your brother?

Can you appeal the polices decision? Surely there's other CCTV , like at cash machines, in the street by the bank and so on?

Have you sent data protection request to the bank for any paperwork there might be?

You might consider making a complaint about the Police's decision or handling of the case to http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/complaints

It sounds like Social Services have cocked things up for the OP's father by claiming the issues were substantiated. What Social Services may consider to be "substantiated" does not necessarily mean it is substantiated for the purposes of a criminal investigation.

As for the investigating officer's supervisor coming out with the statement they have, it sounds more like they are too lazy to do some work, notwithstanding that CPS have implanted themselves at just about every police station and are known for their practice of rejecting cases even where there is clear evidence of an offence and which is capable of proof. The OP's MP is someone who should be approached and I would be inclined to chase up the possibility of pro bono legal advice and representation and see if the OP's father is eligible.

[wales01man]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

While am disgusted that a son would do this I can see many more problems if this went to a court case.

1,Is the father going to stand up in court to give evidence against the son?

2, Can all the evidence be produced are the banks willing to provide it for a case?

3,Has the son any money to be able to repay anything.

4, Does the family and especially the father want to put themselves under the spotlight knowing the son may well make some accusations true or false about other family members. Remember how vindictive some people can be.

5, What pitiful sentence would be handed out if there was a conviction?

I know that my brother got thousands of pounds out of my father to feed his alcohol addiction but my father would never have wanted him in court sad as it may seem blood is not only thicker than water but sometimes
is more important than money,

I repeat my first line I am disgusted that anyone can do this to their father

[bluebottle]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

While am disgusted that a son would do this I can see many more problems if this went to a court case.

1,Is the father going to stand up in court to give evidence against the son? Sounds like he has disowned him.

2, Can all the evidence be produced are the banks willing to provide it for a case? The banks can be served with a Disclosure Order. The other way is to put pressure on the bank staff, which is what we used to do in my day and it was a lot more productive, as well as letting banks know they weren't untouchable.

3,Has the son any money to be able to repay anything? Likely to be covered during a pre-trial review.

4, Does the family and especially the father want to put themselves under the spotlight knowing the son may well make some accusations true or false about other family members. Remember how vindictive some people can be. That is a question the family will have to consider.

5, What pitiful sentence would be handed out if there was a conviction? The question is more "Is the son likely to receive a fair hearing, given the circumstances of the case?" In my opinion, I think it unlikely. Doing something like this to an 85 year-old is going to get people's backs up. However, the Investigating Officer's supervisor and CPS need asking some searching questions.

I know that my brother got thousands of pounds out of my father to feed his alcohol addiction but my father would never have wanted him in court sad as it may seem blood is not only thicker than water but sometimes is more important than money,

I repeat my first line I am disgusted that anyone can do this to their father

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[enaid]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Just to add to the support and help you already getting I would suggest you give Age UK a call http://www.ageuk.org.uk/documents/en....pdf?dtrk=true
I am sure if they can not help you directly they will have information on situations like this.
Enaid x

[bluebottle]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Just to add to the support and help you already getting I would suggest you give Age UK a call http://www.ageuk.org.uk/documents/en....pdf?dtrk=true
I am sure if they can not help you directly they will have information on situations like this.
Enaid x

Thanks for that, Enaid. I do know that Age UK do some fantastic work up and down the UK.

[CleverClogs]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Also, re Police failing to act have you approached the Police & Crime Commissioner for your area?

If only to ask what sort of crimes he has decided to commission?

[marleymouse]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Yes your dad would need a referral from cab to go to the pro-bono centre. Are you thinking of taking civil action to reclaim some of this money from your brother?

Can you appeal the polices decision? Surely there's other CCTV , like at cash machines, in the street by the bank and so on?

Have you sent data protection request to the bank for any paperwork there might be?

You might consider making a complaint about the Police's decision or handling of the case to http://www.ipcc.gov.uk/complaints

Dad would like to seek civil action but has no funds as brother has totally wiped him out, the pro bono is something dad plans to discuss with MP when he can arrange meeting.

There is no CCTV whatsoever, in the past bank CCTV tapes were aparantly kept in a central location for a period but nowadays they only keep CCTV for something like 30 days. The Officer has been into this and concluded there is absolutely nothing available.

The bank have provided the police with paperwork and the two staff members who verified the documents are no longer in their employ but they both had impeccable work record and (despite them being human) there is absolutely no question of them making a mistake ie. not completing adequate document checks or being duped.

The investigating officer was very nice but we had already gleened a great deal of the evidence before dad enlisted professional help. My brother completely abandoned dad from the onset and would not even speak to him once dad realised his money had gone. Dad had no idea how, when, what or why and had to make his own enquiries to get even basic answers before being able to finally accept the full horror of what his son had done.

[marleymouse]

Re: Please advise 85year old victim

Referrals to Bar Pro Bono are also accepted from MPs, so it may be a good idea to get in touch with yours.

Also, re Police failing to act have you approached the Police & Crime Commissioner for your area?

Not sure at this stage what basis to make the complaint or how we can make them take up the case - the officer was very nice but sometimes feel he lacked enthusiasm considering by the time he got dads details there was a huge file showing every detail of each of dads regular expenditure over several years and the unauthorised transfers to his son had been highlighted, also the bank had already provided dad with copies of transcripts etc.