A Bolton man stole £50,000 of his disabled dad’s inheritance and blew it on drugs, drink and sex workers, UK Yahoos news reported this week.
Cory Barrett was a carer for his father, Keith Barrett, who suffers from mental and physical problems. Mr Barrett Senior inherited £78,000 in February 2020 after the death of his mother.
Despite the gift of £5,000 from the inheritance Cory Barrett received, he proceeded to help himself to thousands more from his father’s bank account, Bolton Crown Court heard.
Father’s carer
The prosecution said that 21-year-old Barrett had been his father’s carer since he was a child, a role that increased in responsibility when lockdown happened, and his father was unable to leave his home.
With his father’s permission, the defendant had used his bank card to buy food and other shopping but in August 2020, Mr Barrett had noticed that there was about £40,000 missing from his bank account, and a review of transactions showed that up to £500 had been withdrawn every day.
As Mr Barrett knew the only person who had access to his card and PIN number was his son, he confronted him. The defendant told his father to f*** off and denied that he had stolen so much money.
Threatened to hurt his father
He then admitted he had taken some money, but not the amount that had gone missing and threatened to kill himself or hurt his father if he was not given the money. It is thought Barrett helped himself to another £10,000 before his father tried to keep his cards out of reach in an electronic safe and changed his passwords.
The defendant then managed to guess the password, which allowed him to access the safe and continue stealing from his father.
He was arrested in March 2021 and admitted in an interview that he had spent the initial £5,000 on drugs, alcohol and sex workers. He claimed to have spent up to £3,000 on drugs and had used his father’s bank details to set up accounts with Just Eat, Only Fans and X-Box.
Father left with limited financial resources
The court heard that the loss of money had left Barrett’s father with limited financial resources. However, although his son no longer lives with him, the pair are still in touch.
Judge Timothy Clayson said Mr Barrett had adopted an “amazingly forgiving position”.
Cory Barrett pleaded guilty to fraud.
His defence solicitor stressed that his client had no previous convictions and had since given up using drugs. He had told his solicitor he plans to work every day to repay the debt he owes his father.
Judge Clayson said that the public interest would not be served by jailing Barrett immediately and sentenced him to 18 months in prison, suspended for two years. He also ordered Barrett to take part in rehabilitation activities, along with a thinking skills programme.
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