Woman steals thousands of pounds from 88-year-old victim

A woman has been sentenced to 18 weeks in prison and fined after being convicted of theft and fraud.

Louise Aherne, aged 33, of Laidon Close, Bletchley, befriended the victim and convinced her to lend her bank card to her and spent £1,179.

The offences took place between June 30 and July 1 and were against a woman aged 88.

Ahere was sentenced at Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court after pleading guilty to one count of theft from the person of another and one count of fraud by false representation.

Aherne was sentenced to 18 week’s imprisonment and ordered to pay a victim cost of £115.00 for theft and £793.00 compensation for fraud.

Investigating officer PC David Smith, said: “Thames Valley Police treats all incidents of theft and fraud extremely seriously and every effort is made to locate offenders and bring them before the courts.

“This is an example of when neighbourhood teams use their local knowledge and work together to achieve positive outcomes. In this case Aherne befriended an elderly woman and took advantage of the trust placed in her to defraud the victim.

“Protecting vulnerable victims is our priority and we hope that the sentence for Aherne offers some reassurance to members of the public whose lives are impacted by incidents of theft or fraud.”