Mansfield woman forges cheque from elderly man

A Mansfield woman forged a cheque from a 93-year-old man for hundreds of pounds to pay off her debts, a court heard.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.Mansfield Magistrates Court.
Mansfield Magistrates Court.

Anna Reeve, 28, of Perlethorpe Avenue, Meden Vale, pleaded guilty to stealing a cheque belonging to an elderly man who had employed her to help with domestic jobs at his house in Warsop.

Mansfield Magistrates’ heard how she then forged the cheque to deposit £552 into her boyfriends bank account on May 28 this year.

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The 93-year-old then received a phone call from his bank to say the cheque had been stopped.

Prosecuting, Lisa Morris said: “He didn’t believe he had made out a cheque.

“But when he looked, he found a cheque had been ripped out of the back of his bank book.”

Ms Morris then explained that Reeve, who had been doing household and gardening jobs for the pensioner, tried to take the money because bailiffs had been knocking at her door.

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The defendant claimed not to have her own bank account, so attempted to deposit the money into her boyfriend, Mr Dennett’s account.

Anna Reeve then continued to work for the man for three weeks after depositing the cheque, before he found out what had happened.

Ms Morris said that in her interview with the police, Reeve had said she felt “upset” and “regretful”.

The defence solicitor, Chris Lacey, said: “On numerous occasions, she had wanted to tell the man what she had done, but she was worried that he would never be able to trust her again.”

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Evidence was shown in court that Reeve was in debt of £400 to bailiffs, but claimed the extra £152 was for interest that might be charged on her debts.

Mr Lacey added: “There is no explanation to justify what she did and I understand the trauma it must have left.

“But it’s no coincidence the amount she tried to take from the account was almost the same as what she owed.

“The theft was in order for her to settle her debts with the bailiffs.”

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Lead magistrate, Mr J Marsh, directly addressed Reeve and said: “You were in a position of trust and you breached that.

“It was an aged victim who was vulnerable.”

The case has been adjourned until a later date for probation review.

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