Ampthill woman jailed for stealing from her elderly father

Elaine Holbrook, age 51, of Chestnut Close, was sentenced on Wednesday (21 March) at Luton Crown Court, after being found guilty of two counts of theft.

Following her mother’s death in 2010, Holbrook had looked after her father’s finances and had access to his savings account.

In 2016, another family member discovered that while there should have been thousands of pounds in the victim’s savings account, the actual balance was £236.

When the victim spoke to police, he stated that he’d never given his bank details to anyone else except for Elaine Holbrook. Investigations showed two transactions, one of £6,500 and one of £2,500, leaving the victim’s bank account and going straight into Holbrook’s account.

Detective Constable Surinder Ram from the force’s Emerald team said: “This was a particularly sad case to work on as unfortunately the victim passed away during the trial and so didn’t get to see proceedings brought to an end.

“Holbrook claimed that she was spending the money on herself, on her father, and on her family. The money belonged to her father and he should have been able to spend it on himself and his care, but in recent years family members noticed he appeared dishevelled and was asking friends to buy him coffee as he said he didn’t have any money.

“The Emerald team is committed to protecting the most vulnerable people in our county, and I hope this sentence gives others the confidence to come forward if they think they have been targeted by someone else.”