A Dundee man has been branded a “scumbag” by family members after stealing thousands from his own father.
James Crossan admitted embezzling £46,000 from his late father’s bank account after he was granted power of attorney in 2015.
Dundee Sheriff Court heard after his dad fell ill, unemployed Crossan “almost immediately” made his way to James Sr’s Santander branch in the city and began making withdrawals.
The bank did not become suspicious, despite the regular activity on the current and savings accounts.
The theft only came to light after the current account had gone into overdraft and Mr Crossan’s telephone and television were cut off by Virgin Media.
Removing his phone also meant cutting off his community alarm, potentially placing him in severe jeopardy.
Mr Crossan’s daughter, Jacqueline Stewart, welcomed her brother’s admission of guilt and told The Courier the rest of the family will now be able to start grieving properly for their late father, who passed away in 2019.
Stole £500 at a time
The court heard Crossan, 68, was given control of his father’s affairs after the older man had a stroke in February 2015.
Depute fiscal Douglas Thompson said: “He began making withdrawals of around £500 from the savings account.
“The Santander bank did not take investigative action.
“Virgin Media withdrew services after the account went into overdraft.
“A social worker notified Mr Crossan’s relatives.
“Santander then stopped Crossan being able to withdraw money from the account.
“The matter was reported to police in 2018.
“On September 3 2020, officers traced the accused at his home address.
“He was arrested, and cautioned and charged.
“He made no admission to police under interview, with a solicitor present.”
Vindication for family
Crossan, of Hawkhill, admitted embezzling £46,000 between March 17 2015 and September 14 2018.
He had initially been accused of embezzling £73,879 but the Crown accepted a guilty plea for the reduced sum.
Ms Stewart said her father had been left devastated after it was discovered his son had stolen his life savings.
She said some had been raised from a war pension granted after he was injured on national service.
She said: “It has taken five years for this to come to a close.
“We feel vindicated after what he put us all through.
“I am glad people will be able to hear the truth about what happened.
“My dad had suffered a stroke – he was in sheltered accommodation but after his phone was cut off, it meant his emergency community alarm was switched off too, so if he’d had a fall it would not have worked.
“That’s how we found out – his care worker told us it had been switched off.”
‘Nightmare’ at hands of ‘scumbag’
Crossan will return for sentencing on January 30.
His bail was continued.
Ms Stewart said: “The money was savings and for a family member.
It’s not about the money though – it is about what he did and justice being done.
“My dad was the most generous man.
He was well known in Dundee, in particular the building trade as he was a plasterer.
“He worked all his days to make sure we had everything we needed as children.
“This has been a nightmare.
“I am glad people will know what a scumbag James Crossan is.
“We never thought we would have to go to court for something like this.
“It has been a nightmare but we are glad it is done.”
For more local court content visit our dedicated page or join us on Facebook.
