Pensioner thought £188k home cost £30k, fraud trial hears
A blind man in his 90s who bought a £188,000 house for his cleaner thought he had spent just £30,000 on the deal, a jury heard.
That is what he told psychiatrist Dr Peter Jeffreys during an interview ten months after the purchase was finalised, Wolverhampton Crown Court was told.
He was also unable to subtract seven from 100, did not know what day of the week or month it was and could not recall the street number of his house, revealed the leading expert on the mental capacity of the elderly.
Veronica Robinson, who started cleaning the elderly man's Black Country house in August 2013, has insisted that the money was a gift.
The 61-year-old banked his cheque in November 2014 but did not take possession of the Beecher Street, Halesowen address until the following January.
Dr Jeffreys, who has 40 years experience in his field, told the court: "I am sure beyond reasonable doubt that in November 2014 he lacked capacity to make that financial decision."
The psychiatrist explained this conclusion was based on the state of the Alzheimer's disease from which he was suffering.
Dr Jeffreys continued: "His memory loss meant he could not remember the timing and size of earlier gifts. He could not recall the size of his savings or assess the impact of the gift on those savings."
The jury heard that when asked by the psychiatrist how much money he had given to buy the house, the man replied: "I guess it was £30,000."
He could not remember whether it was a gift or a loan,
Robinson, of High Haden Road, Cradley Heath, denies fraud by abuse of position and attempting to pervert the course of justice.
Her 66-year-old partner Robert Homer, of the same street, denies aiding and abetting alleged fraud and false representation. The trial continues.
