Son is Found Guilty of Financial Abuse

Elderly mother goes without necessities in a care home as son is found guilty of financial abuse.

Robert Catlow aged 54 was sentenced today after previously admitting to defrauding his elderly mother of £112,001.38 whilst she was residing in a care home after being the subject of a criminal investigation by West Yorkshire Trading Standards on behalf of Calderdale Council.

Catlow appeared at Bradford Crown Court today and received a two year sentence suspended for two years and 30 rehabilitation days for offences under the Fraud Act 2006, Abuse of Position, after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing in March to charges relating to abusing his position of trust as legal power of attorney and defrauding his mother out of a substantial amount of money.

His offending against his elderly mother spanned over five years, beginning in 2016 and finally ending in 2021. The West Yorkshire Financial Exploitation and Abuse Team (WYFEAT) within Trading Standards received a referral sharing concerns in May 2021 relating to possible financial abuse by Robert Catlow in relation to his elderly mother who was residing in a care home due to multiple health reasons.

At the time, Catlow was acting as a Lasting Power of Attorney, governed by the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG), for his mother, who was unable to manage her own finances, and therefore he was in a position of trust.

Financial enquiries were conducted, and it was established that Catlow was using his mother’s funds for his own business and to run the home. He had moved into his parents’ address which was mortgage free and was using his mother’s money to pay his own bills and run his business.

During the offending period, Catlow continually failed to engage with financial processes and lied to authorities about his mother’s financial situation.

Eventually Catlow admitted to the care home he had been using his mother’s funds to pay his own bills. In addition to the ongoing financial abuse of his mother, Catlow also failed to visit his mother in the care home and provide toiletries and other items that she may have needed or wanted and therefore the care home had to rely on donations. He fell behind on several occasions with paying the care home for these extras.

The OPG also conducted its own investigation and found that Catlow had misused his mother’s finances and revoked his Lasting Power of Attorney.

Catlow attended court on several occasions and maintained a not guilty plea throughout the court process until on the 4 March of this year, he entered a guilty plea for the offence of fraud by abuse of position.

A timetable under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 was set by the Court and a later financial hearing in this matter will be heard.

Linda Davis, West Yorkshire Trading Standards Manager and Head of WYFEAT said ‘Robert Catlow was in a significant position of trust, and he abused that position, using his mother’s money to finance his own lifestyle and business and leaving her without money for anything such as personal care items. The WYFEAT investigation on behalf of Calderdale Council clearly evidenced financial abuse and fraud by abuse of position and the sentencing today should serve as a warning that fraud will not be tolerated.’