AthenaA mother has been ordered to pay back £50,000 inheritance she stole from her two daughters.
Katherine Hill, 53, from Alltwen in Pontardawe, Neath Port Talbot, and her 93-year-old father Gerald Hill, from Fairwood in Swansea, were found guilty of fraud by abuse of power after a trial last year.
They were sentenced to 30 months in prison and a 12-month sentence, suspended for 18 months, respectively.
The £50,000 inheritance was left to Gemma and Jessica Thomas by their grandmother Margaret Hill in a trust for their 25th birthdays.
On Monday, at a proceeds of crime hearing, Swansea Crown Court heard that due to inflation the sum stolen by their “greedy and spiteful” mother and grandfather was now worth about £65,000.
Ms Hill died in 2013, when Jessica was 12 and Gemma was 15, and placed the money in a trust managed in part by their mum.
But she and her dad lied and said they posted cash in envelopes through the girls’ letterboxes.
The judge told Hill she stole the money because she was “so annoyed that your daughters received more money than you”.
Hill put the money in an instant access Barclays Everyday Saver account, despite being advised not to, and both she and her dad had cards to access it.
Within 12 month, most of the £50,000 had been withdrawn by the fraudsters, but their crime was only uncovered in 2018 when one of her daughters asked for her money early so she could buy a house with her boyfriend.
After the trial, Recorder Greg Bull KC said Hill had “laundered” some of her daughters’ money by paying her partner’s mortgage.
He said Ms Hill and window cleaner Phillip Lloyd “lived together as man and wife” and she could repay her daughters by raising equity from their home.
“It is significant that investigations could not reveal what had happened either to that £50,000, or to what had happened to other relatively substantial sums left to Katherine Hill after her mother’s demise,” he added.
“She still maintains that she has never received the £50,000. I disbelieve her on that and I find her answer to be totally untruthful.
“Mr Lloyd is fully aware of what happened to that £50,000 and has probably helped her at least launder it, if not enjoy the fruits of her fraud.”
AthenaHe added that the money was used to pay their mortgage and utility bills, as well as enjoying a lifestyles they would not otherwise be able to afford.
Hill was told she must repay £50,000 within three months or face another six months prison while her father was ordered to pay £6,000 for his part in the fraud or face three months in prison.
The court heard if neither of the Hills pay, they will be jailed but their debts would not be cleared.
