Posted: Tuesday, 2 September 2025 @ 08:45
It rarely happens but there are actually instances when criminal action is taken in connection with abuse of LPA.
For example, a Macclesfield woman stole £20,000 from her elderly mother was sentenced to 10 months in prison which was suspended for 12 months.
The 65-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge of retaining a wrongful credit. She fraudulently received payments totalling £19,577.45 from the Department for Work and Pensions.
This is a rare thing to happen indeed.
But in this instance there was one critical variable which enabled criminal action to take place namely the victim(apart from the taxpayer) was the mother who was alive.
Most LPA abuse is not discovered until the Donor(the vulnerable person) dies.
A practical step which makes it more difficult to combat LPA abuse post death is the fact that the Office Of Public Guardian will stop investigating any matter on its books once the vulnerable person dies.
In most instances when you complain to the police (particularly after someone dies) they will say it is a civil matter.