Amey: Used an erasable pen
A paralegal has been jailed for 20 months after stealing £11,500 from clients whose affairs her firm was managing under lasting powers of attorney (LPAs).
Emma Charlotte Amey, 45, pleaded guilty in May at Poole Magistrates’ Court to two counts of fraud by abuse of position relating to two male clients who were living in residential homes.
She was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court earlier this month to 20 months’ imprisonment, with the judge describing her actions as despicable and contrived.
Ms Amey was working in the wills and probate department of an unnamed law firm in Poole, where she managed accounts for clients under LPAs and would pay expenses or bills on their behalf using a chequebook or debit card.
The investigation began in February 2024 after the bank returned a potentially fraudulent cheque to the law firm. It found that the corresponding cheque stub was made out to a care company but the cheque itself was addressed to Ms Amey for £3,400.
Dorset Police said: “The employer confronted Amey where she admitted to taking money using cheques. Once the cheques had been signed by another representative at the firm, she used an erasable pen to change the payee’s name to her own.
“In addition to this, she admitted to using debit cards belonging to the victims to withdraw cash for herself and for online transactions.”
In total, Ms Amey stole £11,568 from the two victims over two years.
Detective Constable Lucy Hale, of the economic crime unit, said: “Emma Amey was entrusted with looking after the day-to-day finances of vulnerable and she abused her position for personal gain making deliberate attempts to avoid detection.
“We are committed to investigating reports such as this to ensure that fraudsters are held to account for their offending. This type of crime has the potential to impact the public’s confidence in the power of attorney scheme and I am pleased that we were able to restore some trust and make sure that the defendant was brought to justice.”
