A WEST Cumbrian man who trusted two neighbours after they offered to help him manage his online bank accounts was conned out of more than £8,000.

The leading light in the callous fraud was 28-year-old former Egremont man Ross Crellin, who used the victim's bank details to siphon off money over three months.

His then partner, who was said to have been dominated by Crellin, was 28-year-old Robyn Ward, who allowed her bank account to be used to store the stolen cash. Crellin, formerly of Harper Place, Egremont, admitted fraud.

Ward, who now lives in Morecambe, denied wrongdoing but was convicted after a trial at Carlisle Crown Court. At the same court, prosecutor Tim Evans outlined the facts.

The barrister said the victim, a man in his 60s, had inherited money from his late parents and had it deposited in two accounts. “The money that was left to him was of sentimental value,” said the barrister.

Crellin and Ward lived on the same road.

Not being particularly adept at online banking, the victim had asked another neighbour to help him in 2015. This involved the neighbour visiting the man’s home and helping him to use the computer to make online transactions.

But in 2018 that arrangement came to an end and the helpful neighbour, not wanting to leave the man in the lurch, innocently suggested Crellin could help the man.

“Crellin did step in,” said Mr Evans.

“But shortly after becoming involved he began taking [the victim’s] funds. By October 30, there was only £2,000 left in his savings account.

"He expected there to be much more than that.”

The defendant had made 46 separate transactions, withdrawing £8,372. “It was generally Crellin who was doing it,” said Mr Evans.

Crellin was moving money to the victim’s current account and then on to an account operated by Ward, who at that time was his partner, the court heard.

Since the fraud was uncovered, Crellin had been prosecuted for stealing from his employer. Sean Harkin, defending, said that at the time of the fraud the defendant was a man of good character.

“This defendant is homeless at the moment,” said the lawyer. “He has engaged with the help that the Probation Service are offering him… the lack of further offending shows that there a prospect of rehabilitation.”

Kim Whittlestone, for Ward, said: “It’s clear she was being utilised by somebody more criminally sophisticated."

Judge Michael Fanning told Crellin that the fraud victim “trusted him as a friend” to help him with online banking.

He had then, in a shameless breach of the trust placed in him, scammed the man out of more than £8,000, spending the money on car parts, Spotify downloads, a mobile phone – though Crellin himself was scammed in that transaction.

“He needed a friend to help him, and you were that friend,” said the judge. “But who would want you to be their friend?”

The evidence showed clearly that Crellin was the driving force behind the fraud and initiated it. He wielded an "overbearing power" over his co-defendant, who did what he asked of her.

The defendant’s subsequent theft from his employer showed his “inherent dishonesty,” observed the judge. Despite the offence, there was a prospect that the defendant could be rehabilitated.

Judge Fanning handed Crellin a nine-month jail term, suspended for 18 months. The sentence includes 25 days of rehabilitation.

Addressing Ward, a woman of previous good character, the judge said that despite her denials, she clearly knew why money was being transferred. “You were sucked into offending initiated by your then partner,” said the judge.

“I accept you were under his influence and did what he told you to do.”

He gave her an 18-month community order, with 80 hours of unpaid work and 15 rehabilitation activity days. Her address has been given as Kensington Road, Morecambe.