A man who stole up to £45,000 from his mother has been jailed.
Michael Anthony Stary, 60, of Calder Avenue, York, pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position at York Crown Court.
Today (Monday) he was sentenced to two years and eight months imprisonment.
In January 2011, Stary, along with his sister, was granted joint lasting power of attorney over his 90-year-old mother’s finances.
However, during a routine check of their mother’s accounts in the summer of 2013, Stary’s sister noticed that regular and large amounts of cash had been withdrawn from their mother’s accounts.
Having been placed into a care home the previous year she did not require the use of such large sums of money.
A family broken
Following an investigation it transpired Stary had been using money from the accounts to fund his own lifestyle and set up a company.
Altogether, between £40,000 and £45,000 was taken.
The Crown Court will now be asked to consider a Confiscation Order under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
Detective Sergeant Elaine Arnott from the North Yorkshire Police Safeguarding Unit said increasing numbers of safeguarding alerts about financial abuse are being directed to police. He added:
As attorney for his mother’s financial affairs, Mr Stary stole thousands to fund his own household expenses, home improvements and luxury holidays,” he said.
Sadly, Mrs Stary died during the investigation and a family is left broken by her son’s dishonesty.
The sentence reflects how serious this crime is and serves as a reminder to those entrusted with such responsibility.