Portsmouth Lie Detector Test reveals Carer Fraud
Vast sums of money went missing from our client’s elderly father’s bank account. Suspecting carer fraud, he ordered a Portsmouth lie detector test.
Sam’s Case
Vernon, Sam’s father, was 94 and had needed home care for over 20 years. Bruce had been his carer for 12 of those years and everything seemed to be working well. Vernon, despite his age, was fiercely independent. He needed help with the garden, cleaning and some of his personal hygiene requirements but still led a very active life. Much of his time was spent reading, making model aircraft for his grandchildren and cooking which he loved.
Bruce handled the shopping and household chores, not because Vernon couldn’t do them but because they bored him. The two men had developed a close friendship over the years.
For much of his career Vernon had been in the aeronautics industry, latterly as the CEO of a large aeronautics defence system corporation. So, it surprised Simon when he received a call from Bruce saying they had financial difficulties. His father was a wealthy man and enjoyed the benefits of a large pension and retirement plan.
Financial problems
Vernon didn’t trust banks and kept large amounts of cash in a safe in his study. Simon asked Bruce if he had checked the safe but Bruce said he didn’t have access to it. Bruce suggested they meet to discuss finances but not at the house. He said he didn’t want to unduly worry Vernon. Since Vernon was very mentally alert this struck Simon as being odd, but he agreed to meet Bruce at a local coffee shop.
At the meeting Bruce explained that Vernon was an avid online gambler. He was losing more than he was winning, year on year. For this reason, it was becoming difficult to meet their household bills. Simon found it difficult to believe that his father had a gambling problem. He knew that when his mother was alive, they went to Ascot every year but other than that he had never known his father gamble. However, he said nothing to Bruce and agreed he would pay some money into his father’s account.
Suspected carer fraud
At a time when he knew Bruce was out, Simon visited his father. They sat down to discuss his financial position and Vernon said there could not be any problems with money. Bruce handled all their finances and had access to his bank account. He said there must have been some misunderstanding about online gambling as he had never been an online, or any other type of gambler.
Simon decided to take Vernon to the bank where they learned that Bruce did most of the banking online. He had however, withdrawn large amounts of cash over the years. There was also a lot of activity through the bank account related to online gambling. The bank manager asked if they had considered carer fraud which was on the rise, he said.
Returning to the house, they checked the safe. Usually there would be at least £250,000 in it along with stocks and shares certificates. None of the safe contents were missing and although Vernon believed Bruce had access to it, perhaps he had forgotten the combination.
Portsmouth lie detector test
When Bruce got home the father and son confronted him. He said that he had registered for online banking because it was easier for him to check the accounts and make payments. In terms of cash being withdrawn, he has done that because Vernon had asked him to. And the online gambling, he automatically assumed was Vernon because there was so much activity on the account. Perhaps someone had hacked into the account or somehow got access to Vernon’s bank cards, he said.
When asked what had happened to the cash, amounting to over £200,000 Bruce said Vernon had put it in the safe. But Vernon said that the cash in the safe was only topped up if any of it was used. As far as he was aware none had been used for years.
Simon was quite frank with Bruce that he didn’t believe him and gave him the opportunity to confess. But Bruce was adamant he had done nothing wrong. Rather than call the police immediately Simon, who was in the security industry, said he would book a lie detector test in Portsmouth. Bruce had two choices, take it or face a police investigation.
Bruce turned up for the polygraph examination and the results of the Portsmouth lie detector test showed deception. He was not being truthful about the cash withdrawals or Vernon’s alleged online gambling. The fully analysed and peer reviewed report our Portsmouth Polygraph Examiner provided was sent to Simon within 24 hours.
Conclusion
While the results of the test were being compiled Bruce took the opportunity to pack and leave. The matter has now been reported to the police as suspected carer fraud.
