Grandson swindles 95-year-old widow out of £13,675

A 95-year-old vulnerable widow whose grandson swindled her out of £13,675 said “it feels like he stamped all over me”.

Jobless father of four Abdul Quasem, 35, abused his position of trust having power of attorney over the finance and health affairs of his maternal grandmother Hindah Al-Maflehi, Cardiff Crown Court heard. ⚖️

But Quasem, who lives on benefits, avoided a prison sentence and will only have to re-pay her £3,000 at £100 a month, a judge ordered.

The court heard that Quasem deliberately targeted his “particularly vulnerable” grandmother who spoke no English and was away from her home in Cardiff visiting relatives in Yemen when some of the fraud occurred.

She had been left needing to borrow money to live and fly back home to Cardiff. It was only when the elderly lady arrived back in November 2020 that she realised what her grandson had done and contacted police.

As well as taking money from her bank accounts, Quasem lied to her that a lump sum payment due from her late husband’s Merchant Navy pension was £5,000, when in fact it was more than £9,000. He also told the Department of Work and Pensions that Mrs Al-Maflehi had died in order to make financial gain.

In a victim impact statement read to the court, Mrs Al-Maflehi said: “I was in crisis and nobody understood how I felt. I have cried a lot about what Abdul has done to me. I just wish Abdul could have admitted what he took at the start and not cause all this stress. If he had come to me and said he was sorry I would not have had to go through this process and stress at 95. He is my grandson and I considered him my son. It feels like he has stamped all over me.”

Judge Kember sentenced Quasem to 18-months in prison, suspended for 21-months, on each of the five counts of fraud he pleaded guilty to. The judge ordered him to pay back £3,000 in reparation to his grandmother at £100 a month and imposed a restraining order prohibiting contact for six years. 📝