A man who posed as his dead dad for seven years to pocket over £50,000 worth of pension payments has been jailed for two years.
Anthony Smith, 44, took control of his dad Roger’s bank account when he passed away in 2006.
A court heard Roger had worked for Royal Mail for 12 years until he was made redundant in September 1996.
He claimed his works pension until his death, but Smith failed to tell authorities of his father’s death and the money continued to be paid into Roger’s bank account.
His widow Shirley then legitimately continued to receive the pension until she passed away 12 months later.
After the pension was stopped, Royal Mail received an email from someone claiming to be Roger saying he had not received his pension for some months and he wanted to know why.
After that, two telephone calls were made to the pension fund from a man who claimed to be Roger – but the calls were traced back to a phone connected with Smith.
But by then, Smith, of Deeping St James, Lincs., had already pocketed £52,000 in fraudulent money.
Smith admitted a charge of fraud by false representation between 2007 and 2013 and was jailed for two years at Lincoln Crown Court on September 29.
Sentencing, Judge Michael Heath, told Smith: “This was fraudulent activity conducted over a sustained period of time.
“You had the gall to e-mail the pension provider purporting to be your deceased father.
“You then had the sheer brass neck to follow it up with two telephone calls purporting to be your father saying why isn’t my pension being paid.”
Almas Ben-Aribia, prosecuting, said: “Between the period of Roger Smith’s death in April 2006 and September 2013 the pension was continuously paid.
“The total amount was just short of £52,000.”
Mark Watson, defending, said Smith continued to live with his brother at the family home after their parents died but struggled financially.
Mr Watson said: “There was no extravagant lifestyle. This is not a man who was greedy for money.
“He found himself where he felt, wrongly, that there was not alternative way to pay the mortgage.
“Once the pension stopped the house could no longer be afforded and it was sold.”
