Latest news with #WYFEAT
BBC News
19-03-2025
- BBC News
Holmfirth man jailed after defrauding mother of £60k
A man who cheated his elderly mother out of more than £60,000 partly to fund his online gambling habit has been Brook was his mother's lasting power of attorney (LPA) because she could not manage her own finances, but used her money "for his own interests" and failed to pay her care home Crown Court heard he also sold her home and transferred "a large proportion" of the proceeds to himself, and failed to engage with authorities when 54, of Holmfirth, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of position at the same court earlier and was jailed for two years and eight months. Brook defrauded his mother between April 2019 and October 2022 and an investigation was launched by the West Yorkshire Financial Exploitation and Abuse Team (WYFEAT) after it was alerted his LPA had been revoked. 'Abused his position' The court heard the Office of the Public Guardian revoked the LPA regarding concerns over his management of his mother's court heard financial inquiries were conducted and it was established that Brook was transferring his mother's funds to his personal bank account and spending it on online was then prosecuted by Kirklees Davis, of West Yorkshire Trading Standards, said: "Jonathan Brook was in a significant position of trust and he abused that position, using his mother's money to finance his own interests, leaving her unable to fund her own care."The WYFEAT investigation on behalf of Kirklees Council clearly evidenced financial abuse and fraud by abuse of position and the sentencing today should serve as a warning that fraud will not be tolerated."A Kirklees Council spokesperson said: "Protecting vulnerable residents is a key priority for Kirklees Council and we are committed to taking appropriate action whenever abuse is identified." Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
BBC News
12-03-2025
- Business
- BBC News
More training to launch to protect Bradford residents from scams
More training is being rolled out to help protect vulnerable residents from fraudsters and Council said neighbourhood wardens will be trained by the West Yorkshire Financial Exploitation and Abuse Team (WYFEAT) to help them identify those at risk of exploitation or is part of the Neighbourhood Connect project which aims to tackle social isolation by helping people access local community activities and Kamran Hussain said given the gravity of the problem nationally, "we should be doing all we can to protect people". The training will be provided for free and include case studies and an insight into the role of WYFEAT, the referral process and support available to Hussain, portfolio holder for neighbourhoods and community safety, said: "Fraud is a growing national problem, whether it's doorstep scammers, online or phone calls."This training will help our neighbourhood wardens support anyone who falls victim to or is at risk, as well as challenging the stigma of shame which is often attached to this." Citizens Advice has issued the following advice on recognising a scam:it seems too good to be true – for example, a holiday that's much cheaper than you'd expectsomeone you don't know contacts you unexpectedlyyou suspect you're not dealing with a real company – for example, if there's no postal addressyou've been asked to transfer money quicklyyou've been asked to pay in an unusual way – for example, by iTunes vouchers or through a transfer service like MoneyGram or Western Unionyou've been asked to give away personal information like passwords or PINsyou haven't had written confirmation of what's been agreed Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.
