A WOMAN who stole £63,000 from her elderly mother with dementia has been jailed for 18 months.
Jennifer Bailey wept as Judge Jeremy Richardson QC sent her down for her "mean, greedy and thoroughly dishonest" crime.
Bailey, 59, who was named power of attorney for her elderly mother's estate, abused her position of trust and fleeced Mabel Shaw of everything she had.
In a final callous act, she emptied the account on the day of her mum's death, taking the last £22,000 – leaving nothing to pay for her funeral.
For her brother, Nigel Shaw, 53, who started the investigation rolling after a care home bill went unpaid, the sentencing was the "saddest day of his life".
He said: "I just wanted justice for my mum and dad. They can now stop turning in their graves.
"They would have been heartbroken over this."
Prosecuting, Mark Kendall, told Hull Crown Court how Bailey and her brother had been put in charge of their mother's estate in 2005.
When Mrs Shaw went into a care home, her son, a welder, took a back seat to work full time in Hull while Bailey took care of the day-to-day finances.
Mrs Shaw's home was sold for £83,000, which was paid into the account, as was her £120-a-week pension
Over four years, Bailey frittered away the cash on children's clothes for her grandchildren, drinks at the Beverley pub where she was a barmaid and trips to Meadowhall and Whitby.
There were 194 cash withdrawals totalling £27,000 and 696 bank card transactions amounting to £35,000, including one while on holiday in Thailand.
After the care home contacted Mr Shaw, of Salthouse Lane, Hull, he made enquiries and was staggered to find out his mother's money had run out.
He thought there should have been more than enough to see her through to her final days because of the sale of her house.
Because there was no money left to pay for her mother's care, East Riding Council picked up bill, which amounted to £10,000 by the time of Mrs Shaw's death.
A fraud investigation was launched in 2009 and was completed earlier this year.
Defending Bailey, Miss Taryn Turner asked for the sentence to be suspended due to Bailey's age and because she and her 71-year-old husband were likely to lose their home to pay back the debt.
Miss Turner said: "She has a lot to live with and she does, through me, wish to apologise to her brother. She wants him to know that she is very sorry."
But Judge Richardson said: "This is a tragedy brought upon yourself by your mean, greedy and thoroughly dishonest conduct.
"It was a gross breach of trust. You stole more than £60,000 from your mother, an elderly lady with dementia, who was in a care home and particularly vulnerable. You were supposed to be taking care of her.
"This is a desperate situation for your family but one you have brought entirely on yourself."
