A man accused of fraudulently taking over £24,000 from his girlfriend’s bank account has appeared in court
Thirty-year-old Andrew Clive Baldry, of Hawthorn Path, Mount Estate, Milford Haven appeared at Haverfordwest Magistrates Court on Tuesday to plead guilty to committing fraud between July 2017 and June 2019.
Prosecutor Vaughan Pritchard-Jones who told the court that Mr. Baldry had taken £24,668.53 from the complainant recommended to magistrates that the case be transferred to Crown Court due to their insufficient sentencing powers.
He explained that Mr. Baldry had been in an ‘on and off’ relationship with the victim for the past three years.
“In a victim personal statement given to police, the complainant explains that she was previously married but her husband passed away from cancer in 2013, and had a life insurance policy. In 2016 she began a relationship with Mr. Baldry.
“She said that he had always struggled for money in the past and she usually paid for shopping, meals out and takeaways. Then one day he bought a Peugeot car and also started paying for things, telling her that he’d won £1,000 on a scratch card.
“She confided in a friend and told her one day that the money in her account had dropped, and after checking it online.
“As it was a savings account, the complainant didn’t use it on a regular basis and only dipped into it now and again, so she didn’t realise that the money had gone for some time.
“She immediately went to speak to her bank, who notified her that the money was being transferred into another person’s account.
“The complainant said that she was very upset about it all, as she believed she was in a trusting relationship,” he added.
Magistrates transferred the case to Swansea Crown Court where Mr. Baldry who was released on unconditional bail was told to appear on December 13 for a further hearing.