A man who defrauded a friend of nearly £1,000 after he died was given a suspended sentence yesterday, April 8, at Salisbury Crown Court.
Patrick Egerton, aged 25, from Spiders Island, Alderbury, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation at an earlier hearing in March 2021. He was handed 14-weeks in prison, suspended for 18-months, 100 hours voluntary work, and 50 days of a rehabilitation course.
During investigations, Egerton claimed he had developed a friendship with a Salisbury man in his 20s who died in November, 2018.
In January 2019, family members of the deceased went to close his bank account and found its total contents of £960 had been transferred, in two transactions, to an account held by Egerton. The family became suspicious and contacted the police.
Egerton claimed it was money rightly owed to him after he had loaned the amount to his friend before he died.
Det Con Roxanne Whitton said: “Throughout the investigation Egerton continually denied his involvement and made false claims that his friend and family had willingly given him the money which was owed to him. His untrue claims resulted in this case being drawn out longer than necessary which made it extremely painful for the victim’s family to grieve in.