My friend has commited fraud

[Florence_River]

My friend and his sister both inherited a quarter of the house when their father died with half remaining the property of the mother. She is 88 and in a nursing home with dementia and has no understanding of anything. My friend lives in the family house. He has taken power of attorney over his mother. The mother owned land in Surrey which my friend sold for a huge sum. My friend is living like a millionaire although this is money technically belongs to his mother.

When the mother dies, my friend and his sister will then own half the house and half the estate each. My friend’s sister is not yet aware of the massive fraud he has committed but when the mother dies all will be revealed. The sister is mentally ill and not on this planet but her husband is a very determined man and is determined to get every penny that they are due.

What is the worst that can happen to my friend?

[redcrx]

well the wosrt will be that the sisters husband catches hold of him and teaches him a lesson he wont forget!

Your friend can be reported for the fraud, the police may take action against him for stealing the money.

You can find details on how to report him here http://www.publicguar....uk/suspect-abuse.htm

[factor-fiction]

I see you've posted this twice. It might be worth putting a note on one thread asking people not to answer it and to put all answers under the other thread. It can be a bit messy if answers are in two threads.

[scraggy55]

Someone of 88 and in a Local Authority Nursing Home, will be on the local authority Adults SS records. This is financial abuse and should be reported if it hasnt already. Fraud is a very serious crime and your 'friend' could be a a great deal of trouble. He could also be accused of financial abuse against his sister, as she is mentally ill, and she is also likely to be on some sort of register locally.

[keithlbw]

There could also be the possibility of a charge against the mothers share of the house/land to cover nursing home charges, if they are not already being paid.

[themas]

1. As the person with power of attorney he presumably had the right to sell the land.

2. The problem then is what he did with the money. It should be kept separate from his own money & used for his mother, or invested on her behalf. Proper records of its use should be kept.

3. He may argue that, as half of it will eventually be his, he sees no reason why he should not use it now. This is wrong, but (provided there is & always will be sufficient money to pay for his mother's care & other needs) may be seen as a lesser problem than if he is also eating in to the half which should eventually go to his sister.

4. I don't know what could happen to him - it depends on the detail of what exactly he has done. However, you are clearly concerned about this. If you wish to do anything then you should either inform the sister's husband of what you suspect, or contact the Public Guardianship Office (which has responsibility for powers of attorney). I must say, I hope you do that because it is quite wrong for him to be allowed to go on using money which is not his, especially if it later on deprives his sister of what is rightfully hers.