Gloucester woman jailed after defrauding her elderly neighbour out of his life savings

A woman from Gloucester has been jailed for more than four years after defrauding her elderly neighbour out of his life savings.

Chelsea Iles, aged 29, exploited her relationship with the victim to steal almost £290,000; using some of the money to fund her gambling addiction.

Iles previously pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position and one count of making/supplying an article for use in fraud.

During a hearing at Gloucester Crown Court on Thursday 13 February it was heard that Iles had defrauded the man, aged in his 80s, out of £287,825 between October 2022 and October 2023.

The prosecutor explained that the victim was an elderly and vulnerable man who lived on his own next door to Iles' family in the Matson area.

Iles' mother used to look after the victim; helping him with household tasks and buying his food shopping. To pay for the groceries, she would withdraw small sums of money from his bank account using his cash card and PIN.

When lles' mother died in October 2022, Iles took on the caring responsibilities for the victim. She also gained control of his bank account.

The court was told that Iles soon began to abuse her position of trust by frequently withdrawing more cash than she needed from his bank account without his knowledge or consent.

Between October 2022 and September 2023, she withdrew around £23,000 in cash from the victim's account.

She also had the victim's internet banking details and used this on a daily basis to transfer money from his bank account into her own account.

She would then move this money into third-party accounts and then back to her own account again.

In just 11 months, Iles withdrew a total of £287,825.00 from the victim's bank account without his knowledge and used around £80,000 of that money on gambling sites.

During that time, Iles also transferred £55,700 back into the victim's account.

On a number of occasions, the victim was concerned about his finances and asked Iles if he could see his bank statements.

To prevent him from discovering all the transactions she had fraudulently made and that his funds were depleted, Iles digitally altered the statements on her laptop.

Knowing that the victim had poor eyesight, Iles showed him the false statements; duping him into believing he still had his life savings.

In October 2023 the victim's bank reported to police that they believed suspicious activity was taking place in the man’s bank account.

When investigating officers spoke to the victim, he was unaware that there had been 103 transactions made from his account in 11 months. He said that the only person who had access to his bank account was Iles.

Iles was arrested in October 2023 and released on bail while an in-depth investigation continued by Gloucestershire Police's Economic Crime Team. She was subsequently charged in November 2024 and admitted the offences during a hearing at Cheltenham Magistrates' Court on 14 January this year.

Before sentencing, His Honour Judge Alan Large heard how Iles had previously been convicted of defrauding an employer out of £7500 in 2019.

Iles was handed a custodial sentence of four years and four months. Proceeds Of Crime hearings will take place and a Confiscation Order is expected to be issued which requires the defendant to pay back the financial gains made from criminal activities. 

In mitigation, the court was told that Iles was genuinely remorseful for her actions. Her early guilty plea, bereavement prior to the offences and determination to address her offending behaviour were also taken into consideration.

Sentencing Iles, His Honour Judge Large said: "You picked up the reins of caring for your elderly neighbour from your mother but unfortunately, in a couple of weeks, you started stealing money from him; taking cash and using electronic banking to make transfers more than once a day. Over a ten-month period you withdrew £700 a day.

"£80,000 was used for gambling – where did the rest go? When the victim wanted to see a bank statement, you took the cowardly way out and fraudulently altered the statements."

Speaking after the sentencing, the victim's nephew said: "It has been a very upsetting, stressful time for my uncle, wondering whether he will get his money back. He put his trust in the next-door neighbour just to do some shopping for him. He couldn’t believe that she could do such a despicable thing to him."

A spokesperson from the Economic Crime Team said: "This was a deplorable series of offences involving the financial exploitation of an elderly man, during which the defendant stole his entire life savings.

"The Constabulary’s Economic Crime unit conducted a meticulous and painstaking investigation to uncover the defendant's crimes. This, along with constructive partnership working with the Crown Prosecution Service, resulted in her conviction at court.

"This was a challenging case because the defendant had gained the victim’s complete trust, and it took some time for him to fully realise and accept what she had done to him.

"He has received support from the Constabulary and family members throughout this difficult time.

"I hope that the sentencing will send out a clear message that fraudsters operating in Gloucestershire will be pursued by the police and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."