Man jailed for three and a half years for pilfering from will
AN executor from Wellingore has been jailed for three-and-a-half years and disqualified from being a director of a company for seven years for his part in stealing £412,000 from clients' wills.
Nicholas Francis Butcher, 63, of Cliff Road, Wellingore, was sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court by Judge Robert Alan Brown on Friday along with David William Nash, 37, of North Hykeham, who was also jailed for three and a half years and disqualified from being a director for seven years, and Raymond Anthony Prince (Nash's step-father), 61, of Bilsby, near Alford, got a 12 month suspended prison sentence for his part and ordered to do 250 hours of unpaid work in the community.
Butcher and Nash must pay back a total of around 55,000 to their victims - all the traceable funds that remain of the approximately half a million pounds they stole.
Investigating officer Neil Hollingsworth said: "The convicted men took advantage of people who were often grieving for close family members or friends. They plundered large sums of money from the estates of deceased people."
The complex police enquiry began in 2006 after a complaint by a will beneficiary who was concerned over the time taken to settle an estate by executors, Willmakers of Distinction Ltd of Bracebridge Heath.
It was established that in excess of 400,000 was stolen from estates of deceased persons and over 12,000 in pre-paid funeral bonds had been pilfered. The suspects were arrested on counts of theft and fraudulent trading.
Managed estates were from all parts of the country and included several charities.
Nash pleaded guilty in April prior to trial, Butcher pleaded guilty as the trial started. Prince was found guilty of fraudulent trading.
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Friday 25 May 2012
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