Allan Beacham, a 66-year-old care worker from Wootton, Kent, has been sentenced to almost four years in prison for stealing £75,000 from Alan Pattillo, a disabled film writer he was employed to care for. The verdict was delivered at Winchester Crown Court on Friday, June 21, after Beacham pleaded guilty.
Beacham began working for a care company in May 2016 and was assigned to look after Mr. Pattillo, who was registered blind, wheelchair-bound, and suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Initially, Beacham cared for Pattillo in Scotland before continuing after Pattillo relocated to Salisbury in 2017. While a paralegal managed Pattillo’s overall finances, Beacham was responsible for day-to-day money handling and care duties. He regularly transferred funds for Pattillo’s needs and liaised with the film writer’s legal team.
Concerns were raised in spring 2019 when a new solicitor noticed suspicious cash withdrawals from Pattillo’s bank account. Wiltshire Police launched an investigation after it emerged that Beacham had been withdrawing money intended for Pattillo’s care and using it to fuel his National Lottery addiction.
The investigation was thorough, collecting witness statements from locations as distant as Australia and the Outer Hebrides, and examining bank records and solicitor files in detail.
Sadly, Mr. Pattillo passed away during the course of the investigation. Despite this, prosecutors continued with the case, charging Beacham with theft of approximately £75,000 between October 2017 and May 2019.
Detective Constable Nick Bishop from the Regional Organised Crime Unit said, “His crime was against a very elderly and vulnerable man, who he was employed to care for and who totally depended on him. Instead, Mr Beacham utterly abused this trust and position by stealing a vast amount of money for his own satisfaction and addiction.”
Wiltshire Police expressed their gratitude to the Crown Prosecution Service and counsel Mr. Evans for their efforts in securing justice for the victim’s family.
Originally published by UKNIP.
