A former bank employee cheated his dementia-stricken mother out of £43,000, squandering cash on drink, drugs and fast cars.
Martin Chubb even taunted his family, who had been caring for their elderly mother, gloating: “While you’ve been running around, I’ve been pinching it [the money].”
Martin Chubb – Photo: TVP
The 59-year-old, of Grove Court, off Newtown Road, Newbury, had been trusted with legal power of attorney over Patricia Chubb’s affairs because of his banking experience.
But he was siphoning off the cash intended to pay for her dementia care in order to fund a lavish lifestyle for himself and his new bride, Reading Crown Court heard on Thursday, June 11.
Chubb’s deception came to light when a care agency sent a bill, only to be told by him: “There’s no money.”
He admitted committing fraud between May 20, 2024, and January 1 this year.
Sarita Basra, prosecuting, said the family suspected Chubb may also have been involved in fraud concerning the sale of a property but that there was no charge concerning that before the court.
His siblings said in a victim impact statement: “We can’t understand how someone could do this to their mother at her age, with her health issues.
“How can we look after her financially while protecting her from what happened?
“We can’t believe the lack of remorse; he didn’t seem to care… the lack of accountability was unreal.
“It keeps us awake at night; none of us can rest; this was deliberate targeting of a mother suffering from dementia.”
Ms Basra said the family remained cynical about Chubb’s belated expressions of apparent remorse.
Alex McHugh, defending, said a trust fund had been discovered to which his client had no access, so that would help to pay for the victim’s care.
He said Chubb had repaid some of the stolen cash.
Mr McHugh conceded that Chubb “didn’t express himself in a way befitting his guilt when caught red-handed”, but suggested he had since displayed “genuine remorse and realised the gravity of his actions”.
Chubb had initially tried to delay sentencing in a bid to secure a suspended sentence.
Despite apparently failing to attend two probation appointments in custody, he launched a last minute bid to persuade the court to adjourn to give him another chance at co-operating with a pre-sentence report.
Mr McHugh acknowledged that his client hoped that the subsequent report would recommend suspending any prison sentence.
But the judge, Recorder John Ryder KC, ruled that the sentencing exercise should proceed.
After hearing all the evidence he told Chubb: “The facts of this case are both distressing and sordid.
“You violated the trust your mother and siblings placed in you by stealing from your mother as her faculties declined.
“You spent the money on luxuries and self indulgence; on holidays, drink and drugs.
“Dementia is a cruel condition and one that occasions particular distress and sorrow in the families of individuals affected.
“Your offending had a devastating effect… it wouldn’t, in my judgement, be appropriate to suspend the sentence.”
Judge Ryder sentenced Chubb to two years and four months imprisonment.
He will serve half of that in custody and the remainder on licence in the community.
He did so by abusing his power of attorney, specifically, by acting against, or not safeguarding, the financial interests of Patricia Chubb in order to make a financial gain for himself.