29 February 2024 , 11:46
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A callous bus driver stole more than £27,000 from his Covid-stricken grieving mum to feed his drug addiction as she slept.
Recently widowed Kathleen King had turned to her 36-year-old son James for help after contracting Covid, but instead of helping he used her bank card 313 times. The money was part of a £65,000 legacy she received following the death of her husband after the pair had “scrimped and saved” during their marriage.
Ellie Sheahan, prosecuting, told Maidstone Crown Court that Mrs King discovered the money had gone missing when she received a text message from the bank in July 2021 saying that she had been unable to pay all of her bills for the month.
Ms Sheahan added: “It was at this time she checked her bank statements which showed she was £2,500 overdrawn. The victim immediately suspected James of having done this because he had access to her bank cards while he was helping at her house.”
Ms Sheahan said there were a total of 313 unauthorised debit card transactions on the account, totalling £27,030.17. She said discovering her son had stolen the cash was "devastating" for Mrs King. The money has since been reimbursed to her by her bank, the court heard.
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James King, of Snodland, Kent, admitting fraud, and possessing Class A drugs in a separate matter in 2021. Jailing him for 45 months, Judge Robert Lazarus told King that his actions had a "considerable impact" on his mother who asked for a restraining order prohibiting her son from contacting her for five years.
The Judge said King's mother had taken him in after the drug addict, who also had convictions for robbery and kidnap, had fallen out with his father. The Judge told him: “This was just appalling to take your mother’s life savings while she slept. It has had a considerable impact on her."