Hartlepool fraudster stole £2,000 from paralysed uncle after taking photo or his bank card

Convicted fraudster Steven Iverson, 31, photographed the bank card back and front and used it to order £2,016 worth of goods online including takeaway food.

His cousin, who had power-of-attorney to handle the financial affairs of the uncle who was paralysed from the neck down, was horrified when she discovered the gap in his savings, Teesside Crown Court was told.

Suspicions in the family fell on Iverson, from Hartlepool, because of his previous convictions for fraud offences, said prosecutor Nigel Soppitt.

Phone calls were made and he made admissions saying he was “so sorry”. He said that he went into his cousin’s handbag and he photographed the card and went on to use it.

Mr Soppitt added: “She said that the incident left her shocked and distressed that somebody she thought she could trust had done that to her vulnerable uncle.”

Iverson went to the police station voluntarily and he said that he took some items to Cash Converters to raise some cash.

He had convictions from 2006 for dishonesty, and for fraud offences in 2009 and 2011 including making articles for use in fraud.

Mr Soppitt said that the latest offences were committed over a period of six months and it had a high impact because of the vulnerability of the victim.

Stephen Constantine, defending, said that Iverson had not been able to find work for two years and it began to affect his mental state. He had to rely on his partner for finances, and he did not use the stolen money for extravagant spending.

He said: “It was a breach of the former relationship that he had with his uncle and his niece, who were the only people who cared for him and provided for him.

”He has written to them saying he is very sorry for what he has done, but not surprisingly neither of them want anything more to do with him because of what he has done.

”He has done something that no words can put right, if he could turn the clock back he would because he is now completely isolated from those who were closest to him.”

He said that Iverson hoped to get a job after the holidays and he had promised to make amends if possible.

Judge Deborah Sherwin said that the one good thing was that he had admitted it and had pleaded guilty. She said that the starting point for the sentence was 18 months and he was entitled to one-third off for his plea.

Iverson, of Leamington Parade, Hartlepool, was given a 12-months jail sentence suspended for 18 months with 20 days rehabilitation requirements and 280 hours unpaid work and ordered to pay £2016 compensation at £30 a month after he pleaded guilty to fraud.