A man battling long-term drug and gambling addictions stole nearly £340,000 from his partner and her elderly parents to bankroll his habits, a court has heard.
Nottingham Crown Court was told that Justin Fletcher repeatedly deceived his family over many years, inventing financial crises to extract money. The scale of the fraud has left his former partner’s retired parents facing the possibility of selling the home they have owned for four decades.
The court heard that the parents remortgaged their property and persuaded friends and relatives to lend money after being led to believe their grandchildren could be evicted or taken into care if they did not help.
In a victim impact statement, the mother said she felt “devastated because she worked in a bank for years and prevented many people from being conned out of their money”.
Sentencing the 43-year-old, from Long Eaton, to five years and seven months in prison, Judge Stevem Coupland said: “You are somebody who is utterly dishonest and totally selfish and who, during the course of your relationship, took money to fund your gambling and drug addiction even though that caused your then partner to fall into rent arrears.
“At the same time, you were using her retired parents, without her knowledge, to get money by telling them you were both in dire financial stress, might be evicted and that their grandchildren might be taken into care. All of this was a lie.
“As a result, they remortgaged their home, borrowed from friends, and you withdrew all of their money to the tune of over £300,000 and spent it on yourself. This was deliberate, planned and sophisticated, but for their realisation of what was going on you would have taken their last penny piece off them.
“What you did has left your ex-partner’s parents devastated, and they now face the prospect of selling their property, which they have lived in for 40 years. You committed these offences to fund two addictions: cocaine and gambling, both of which you have had for a long time.
“That is an explanation, but it is not an excuse.”
Prosecutor Luke Blackburn told the court that Fletcher and his former partner began a relationship in 2003 and have two children together, now in their teens. He described Fletcher as “controlling and manipulative by financially abusing her”, adding that he “told lie after lie” to obtain money before secretly turning to her parents.
Mr Blackburn said: “The total amount of the fraud was £339,637 in cash and bank transfers. His reach exceeded his grasp, and he was stopped rather than choosing to desist. Her parents remortgaged their home and borrowed £180,000 from people they knew.
“In her victim impact statement, the partner say,s ‘I feel so angry and upset about the whole thing and how my parents are unlikely to get anything back. How can anyone do that?’
“And in her statement, her mother sai,d ‘I feel devastated because I used to work in a bank for years and prevented many, many, people from being conned out of their money, and then this happened.”
Fletcher, of Main Street, pleaded guilty to fraud and has previous convictions.
Mitigating, Lauren Manuel said: “He had a long-term cocaine and gambling addiction, which was the position throughout their relationship. At the time of this offending he found himself in a hole he could not get out o,f and over time, he took advantage of people’s kindness.
“He is ashamed of his actions.”
The case highlights the severe personal and financial harm that addiction-driven fraud can cause, particularly when it targets close family members who place trust above suspicion.