A fraudster pensioner conned an Army veteran out of £50,000, who later died before he was able to see justice.
Agnes Hewitt, 63, said to former soldier George Ross she could handle his employment dispute with the Royal British Legion. Ross had been removed from his senior position at the charity in 2011.
She requested payment for lawyers and sent fake paperwork before telling him that the case had been settled for £501,000 and needed to be paid.
During this time, Ross became seriously ill. Whilst lying in hospital, Hewitt informed Ross that he owed her £10,000. His family later found that she had taken £52,684, who then alerted the police.
A pensioner stole thousands from an army veteran
Getty/Wikipedia
He died from his illness in June 2019.
Hewitt is now facing jail time for her actions, appearing in court this week.
Ross's widow Ann said: “My husband was a veteran and for someone to do that, taking every penny, is disgraceful.
“My life is finished now because I can’t do anything to my house because I’ve got no money and it’s terrible what she has done.
“My husband was crying his eyes out on the phone to her in the hospital and he said to her 'you have bled me dry and taken every penny'.”
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Hewitt also scammed businessman Michael Dooley out of almost £140,000, scamming both for a combined total of just under £200,000.
She claimed that she did no wrong, however, jurors at Hamilton Sheriff Court convicted her of fraud between 2012 and 2018.
The 63-year-old convinced Dooley to pay for legal costs amid a dispute with another director at his firm, Strathkelvin Instruments Ltd.
After becoming suspicious when no verdict was given, Dooley went to Edinburgh courts where he was told that no case existed. He was shocked to learn that Hewitt had stolen £139,965 from him.
Jurors at Hamilton Sheriff Court convicted her of fraud between 2012 and 2018
Wikipedia
He told the court: “Me and my wife were starting to dispute all of the evidence and we got the brush off from her and that is when we knew we were right and that is when the police were called in.
“At the end of the day I was conned and I have to hold my hands up and say again that I was conned."
He added: “She was mentioning millions of pounds was coming in this settlement.
“I was stressed out of my mind trying to raise a family, run a small business and support my wife so it was a hellish time and I was on the edge of a nervous breakdown, in fact I don’t know how I didn’t have one because we even re-mortgaged the house.”