Support worker who defrauded vulnerable people out of thousands jailed

A former support worker who preyed on vulnerable people to defraud them of money has been jailed.

Ian Jones, 61, of Bedford Street, Rhyl defrauded seven victims of a total of almost £46,000 over a seven-year period.

He admitted seven counts of fraud by false representation at a hearing at Mold Magistrates Court last month and was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Thursday, 12 February.

He was jailed for two years.

Jones, who was working as a Learning Disability Support Worker at the time of the offences, took advantage of his access to the victims and their personal details to obtain credit in their name.

Some of the victims had severe disabilities, including a limited ability to speak.

Jones came to the attention of police at the end of 2020 when it was reported one of the victims received a letter from a credit management company stating he owed almost £370. The account was listed to Jones’ home address.

A warrant was subsequently executed at Jones' home where a number of financial documents and credit cards in names other than his own were seized, as well as more than £9,000 in cash.

The investigation discovered Jones was fraudulently using the victims’ names to apply for credit cards and to finance expensive items.

Some of the items included expensive jewellery, bedroom furniture, a new kitchen and appliances and the installation of a new boiler in his own home.

Detective Sergeant Rachael Edwards of the North Wales Police Economic Crime Unit said: “We welcome today’s sentence which concludes a complex investigation.

“Fraud impacts people’s lives across all walks of life and as a department, we have safeguarding processes in place to assist in identifying and protecting the most vulnerable victims.

“Should you have any concerns that an individual is being financially abused, we would always encourage you to contact the police, Report Fraud or Crimestoppers as this will assist us to disrupt this type of criminality.”