Wills worker used erasable pen to swipe thousands meant for vulnerable people

Emma Amey manipulated cheques and debit cards while managing the finances of elderly clients in care homes.

A paralegal entrusted with the financial affairs of vulnerable elderly clients has been jailed after she used an erasable pen to commit despicable fraud.

Emma Charlotte Amey, who worked in the wills and probate department of a Poole-based law firm, used her position to manipulate client cheques and debit cards, stealing over £11,500 between October 2021 and October 2023.

Amey’s role granted her access to the finances of individuals living in residential care, for whom the firm held power of attorney. She was supposed to manage their accounts, ensuring expenses were handled honestly. Instead, she used signed cheques to siphon funds into her own hands — and she did it using an erasable pen.

The fraud unravelled in February 2024, when the firm’s bank flagged a suspicious cheque. The stub indicated a payment to a care provider, but the actual cheque had been altered to pay Amey £3,400. Investigators discovered that after other staff had signed cheques, Amey used erasable ink to change the recipient details to her own name.

Her scheme didn’t stop at cheques. She also admitted to withdrawing cash and making online purchases with the debit cards of at least two clients under her care. By the time the fraud was exposed, Amey had stolen £11,568.

Amey pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position at Poole Magistrates’ Court earlier this year. She was sentenced this week at Bournemouth Crown Court to 20 months in prison.

The sentencing judge condemned Amey’s behaviour as “despicable and contrived,” underlining how her deliberate efforts to evade detection amounted to a betrayal of trust.

Dorset Police detective constable Lucy Hale said the case demonstrated how such crimes “have the potential to impact the public’s confidence in the power of attorney scheme,” stressing that Amey “abused her position for personal gain.”

The law firm where Amey worked has not been named in public reports, but the case has rattled the local legal community and serves as a stark warning to firms overseeing the finances of the elderly and vulnerable.

While Amey begins her jail term, questions remain over how long her fraud went unnoticed — and whether other clients may have been affected.