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An elderly couple’s so-called ‘friend’ has been sentenced to jail for defrauding them of more than £900,000. Susan Bruland, a 57-year-old from Banbury, abused her position as the couple’s power of attorney to siphon off money from their bank accounts for her personal use. Following her guilty plea last month, Bruland was handed a five-year sentence at Oxford Crown Court for committing two counts of fraud by abuse of position.
According to Detective Inspector Duncan Wynn, who heads Thames Valley Police’s central fraud unit, Bruland showed a callous disregard for the trust placed in her and failed in her duty to act in the best interests of the victims. He highlighted that she demonstrated minimal remorse or provided any coherent explanation for her actions. Bruland, who ran her own bookkeeping business, initiated the fraudulent scheme by withdrawing substantial sums from the couple’s joint account in July 2022. By December of the same year, their account was nearly depleted.
Subsequently, Bruland proceeded to open new bank accounts and cryptocurrency wallets, investing £150,000 in cryptocurrency. She continued her deceitful activities by transferring additional funds from one of the elderly couple’s accounts between April and June 2023. Her deceptive practices came to an end after her account was flagged for potential fraud by the bank, leading to her arrest in January 2024. The investigation was triggered by the discovery of unusually large transactions from the victims’ bank accounts, prompting authorities to uncover Bruland’s systematic exploitation of the vulnerable couple.
Detective Inspector Wynn elaborated on how Bruland leveraged the victims’ assets to sustain her own lifestyle and business dealings once the bank accounts were drained. This unscrupulous behavior left the care home, responsible for the elderly couple’s well-being, owed a significant sum of money due to Bruland’s failure to cover the care expenses. In total, Bruland embezzled over £900,000 from the two elderly individuals entrusted under her care, highlighting the severe breach of trust and abuse of position that resulted in her incarceration
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