A mother stole a £50,000 inheritance from her two daughters and used the cash to buy herself clothes while recruiting her 93-year-old dad as a ‘willing patsy’.
Katherine Hill, 53, and her father Gerald Hill, 93, from south Wales, were told they acted out of ‘greed and spite’ in taking the sum left for her daughters Gemma and Jessica Thomas.
The £50,000 bequest was made for them by their grandmother Margaret on the provision that they could access it when they turned 25 or wanted to buy a house. One of the girls then asked for access to the cash and discovered it was gone.
Hill and Hill senior had emptied the account in just over a year – with Lloyds bank worker Katherine and her ‘useful stooge’ father dipping into the account. The grandfather claimed he was posting the money through the door to the girls.
A jury at Swansea Crown Court took just two hours to find them both guilty of fraud by abuse of position.
Katherine Hill (right) and her father Gerard (left, in a wheelchair) arrive at Swansea Crown Court to be sentenced after stealing £50,000 from Katherine’s daughters
Katherine Hill’s daughters Gemma (left) and Jessica Thomas (right) have lost their £50,000 inheritance thanks to their mother and grandfather’s actions
Gerald Hill leaving Swansea Crown Court following an earlier hearing. He has been given a suspended sentence
In a victim impact statement, Jessica Thomas said she found it difficult how her family could cause her so much ‘harm and pain’ and the fact that they can lie so easily ‘scares’ her.
The qualified nurse added: ‘Financially, my life has been affected more than I thought.’
In a written statement, her sister Gemma said that their actions have caused her to be in debt and ‘it’s been a great deal of emotional and financial stress.’
She added that she feels ‘let down and lied to’ by two people who are meant to be her ‘blood and family.’
Prosecutor James Hartson said Margaret died in 2013 with the money for her grandchildren placed in a trust managed in part by their mother.
Mr Hartson said Katherine Hill later placed the money into a Barclays Everyday Saver account despite being advised not to. The account allowed instant access, and both she and her father had cards.
The withdrawals, made over the course of a year, included one for £15,000 and others for £10,000 – along with a single bank transfer of £2,300 directly into Katherine Hill’s account.
She claimed that transaction was used to pay for the family’s boxer dog operation which Jessica had agreed to, adding that smaller amounts of money were spent on shopping trips at New Look and Primark on behalf of her daughters.
She said: ‘It was for their benefit – I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong.’
The fraud was only identified in 2018 when one of the daughters asked to access her share of the funds early to help buy a house with her boyfriend. Solicitors began a civil investigation into the fund and the police were called in.
Mr Hartson said Katherine Hill told police she had known nothing about the large withdrawals of cash until her father told her he had been putting it in envelopes and posting it where his granddaughters lived.
Katherine Hill declined to give evidence in the case but her father told the jury he posted the money through the girls’ door.
He said that it was his own decision to withdraw money from the account and give the majority of £50,000 to his granddaughters in ‘instalments’ – by posting envelopes of cash through the letterbox of their home ‘every so often.’
Hill, who formerly ran a B&B in Oxwich and worked for Royal Mail, denied acting under instruction and denied using any of the money himself.
Gerald Hill now has ‘no one else in his life’ after he was branded a fraudster, the court was told
Gemma Thomas leaving court during an earlier hearing in the case. She said her mother and grandfather’s actions have left her with debt
Jessica Thomas said she found it difficult how her family could cause her so much ‘harm and pain’
Katherine Hill pictured outside court. She refused to give evidence during the trial – though her father spoke from the witness box
He said he did what he did ‘purely and simply to ease the situation between them (the granddaughters) and their mother’, adding: ‘I didn’t know what else to do – I thought it was the best thing to do.’
When cross-examined by Mr Hartson, Hill denied that he had been ‘coached’ by his daughter about what to say.
But the prosecutor said Gerald Hill had been ‘recruited’ by his daughter who had used him as a ‘stooge’ before ‘throwing him under the bus.’
He added that Katherine Hill did not have the courage to go into the witness box to answer questions, describing her as a manipulative and dishonest woman for whom lies were ‘comfortable and easy’.
Gerald Hill replied: ‘She knew nothing about it. I did it off my own back. Nobody asked me to do it’.
DC Aled Brothers, the officer in charge of the case, said the cash ‘is impossible to follow’ and there is no way to trace the money.
Mr Hill told DC Brothers that he would always protect his daughter, adding: ‘I’d die for her.’
Katherine Hill, of Pontardawe, and Gerald Hill, of Gower, were convicted after a week-long trial.
Defending Katherine Hill, Matthew Murphy said that she was not a woman living a ‘lavish’ lifestyle off of the proceeds of her crime.
He added: ‘It was a one off, unique scenario in her life that she is not proud of in any shape or form.’
Harry Dickens, defending Hill senior, told the court he now has ‘no one else in his life’ having destroyed his ‘good character and reputation’.
Judge Recorder Greg Bull KC told them they been driven by ‘greed and spite’, telling Katherine Hill she played the ‘leading role’ with her father a ‘willing patsy.’
He added: ‘I hope the Proceeds of Crime investigation discovers where this money has gone.’
Judge Bull sentenced Katherine Hill to 30 months imprisonment, where she will serve half in custody and half on licence.
Gerald Hill was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months.
