Ex-Ukip councillor jailed for stealing £46,000 from vulnerable pensioner

Stephanie Todd was convicted of theft two months before her victim died at the age of 98

Tom Wilkinson
Friday 20 July 2018 16:28 BST
Todd, 57, first met the victim while shopping in the market town of Richmond
Todd, 57, first met the victim while shopping in the market town of Richmond

A former Ukip councillor who stole £46,000 from a 98-year-old widower after befriending him in the street has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

Stephanie Todd, 57, conned pensioner Philip Wall into giving her his bank card so she could withdraw up to £1,300 of his pension money every month.

She was only caught three years later after trying to change his will to become the main beneficiary instead of the Cats Protection charity.

The solicitors' firm that held power of attorney over the victim became suspicious when she tried to switch legal firms and called in police.

Mr Wall, who was profoundly deaf, died in February this year after seeing Todd convicted of theft at Teesside Crown Court.

Judge Stephen Ashurst said Todd had cynically portrayed herself as a "saint" for helping the victim.

The judge added: "You were a forceful woman in your 50s, who exploited that position to exert influence on a very old man.

"He was 98 when he died, knowing that someone who he had trusted had stolen from him."

Mr Wall, from the market town of Richmond in North Yorkshire, was described as a modest, frugal, independent man who had promised his late wife to leave his money to a charity that helped cats.

Todd, from Shute Road, Catterick Garrison, was a councillor on Richmondshire District Council and stood as a Ukip candidate in the 2015 General Election.

She met Mr Wall by chance while shopping in Richmond in August 2013 and within two months had taken over as his cleaner.

Shaun Dryden, prosecuting, said: "Essentially she tried to help him following that accidental meeting.

"What becomes clear, in a very short space of time, is that this defendant made every effort to rearrange Mr Wall's financial affairs."

Todd regularly used the retired GPO engineer's bank card to withdraw up to £300 a time from cashpoints as far away as Oxfordshire and Darlington.

When she was arrested on 30 June 2016 the victim's bank card was found in her purse and receipts and bank statements were seized from her home.

Todd was convicted of theft in December and a month later Mr Wall made a victim statement to police, saying: "I trusted Stephanie Todd and I fear she has betrayed that trust by stealing money from me when I was in a vulnerable position.

"Since being told of Stephanie Todd's actions I have been constantly anxious and I have worried over this daily and I found it difficult to trust people.

"I am 98 and the fact someone has stolen from me has marred the final years of my life."

Todd's sentencing was delayed after she had a stroke shortly before the jury came back with a verdict and she now uses a walking frame.

Simon Perkins, defending, said: "Miss Todd is remorseful for her conduct. She accepts she has thrown away 57 years of good character."

Financial investigator Steve Wright, from North Yorkshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “The effect that crimes of this nature have on people is devastating.

“This was clearly a gross breach of trust and all the evidence shows the extent to which Todd took advantage of her elderly victim who sadly died shortly after the conviction.

“North Yorkshire Police will continue to pursue criminal charges against those who seek to exploit vulnerable members of our community.”

Press Association

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