[A] MAN who stole pension payments of more than £23,000 from his deceased aunt’s bank account has been handed a suspended jail term.
Alan James Brown, 45, was sentenced at Carlisle Crown Court having admitted one charge of theft.
Brown stole £23,331.34, belonging to NHS Pensions, during a period spanning almost three years. The court heard regular payments had been deposited into the bank account of the late Joyce Brown until December, 2011, when the pension provider learned she had died in early 2009.
Brown had made “generally” weekly cash machine withdrawals amid financial difficulties, before making a “full and frank” confession to police.
Brown, of West Croft, Seaton, Workington, had an eight-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months by Recorder Nicholas Clarke QC. He must complete 200 hours’ unpaid work, was given a four-month night-time curfew and ordered to make monthly repayments for two years.
