SENTENCED: Salisbury man who defrauded dead friend
Family of the deceased became suspicious of Patrick Egerton from Alderbury
A man who defrauded a friend of nearly £1,000 after he'd died has been sentenced.
Patrick Egerton, aged 25, from Spiders Island, Alderbury, was sentenced to 14-weeks in prison, suspended for 18-months on Thursday (8 April 2021) at Salisbury Crown Court.
He'd pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation at an earlier hearing in March 2021.
During the Police investigation Egerton claimed he'd developed a friendship with a Salisbury man in his 20s who had sadly passed away in November 2018.
FAMILY BECAME SUSPICIOUS
In January 2019, family members of the deceased went to close his bank account only to find that its complete contents of £960 had been transferred, in two transactions, to an account held by Egerton. The family became suspicious of why this had happened and contacted police.
Egerton claimed that this was money rightly owed to him after he had loaned the amount to his friend before he died.
Following his sentencing, Det Con Roxanne Whitton said:
"Throughout the investigation Egerton continually denied his involvement and made false claims that his friend and family had willingly given him the money which was owed to him. His untrue claims resulted in this case being drawn out longer than necessary which made it extremely painful for the victim's family who were unable to grieve in peace during this time."
"I hope now that Egerton has admitted to carrying out the fraud and has been punished, the family can at last have some closure and grieve properly."
As part of his sentencing, Egterton is also required to carry out 100 hours voluntary work and undertake 50 days of a rehabilitation course.