Wigan conman befriended vulnerable pensioner before stealing thousands from her bank account

Nicky Parr, of Hunter Road, Marsh Green, was sentenced at Bolton Crown Court by Judge Timothy Stead to 32 months in prison after stealing £6,500 from the 78-year-old woman’s bank account and through PayPal.

Parr, 34, preyed on his victim, who suffers with schizophrenia, taking advantage of her trusting nature to obtain bank cards and gain access to valuable belongings.

Between July 2018 and January 2019, the ruthless criminal stole large amounts of cash by using the woman’s bank card to withdraw money from her account.

He also set up a PayPal profile with her details which he used to buy goods over the internet.

The crimes finally came to light on August 20, last year when Greater Manchester Police received a call from Halifax Bank in relation to banking protocol.

A concerned member of staff had flagged up that the victim had been transferring money into the account of a “Lee Parr”.

During the pair’s ‘friendship’, Parr also stole a television, a safe, a gold ring and a gold necklace from the pensioner, which he then took to Cash Converters to pawn.

The callous fraudster admitted to taking £3,500 in cash withdrawals, spending £2472,67 over Paypal and transferring £555 from her account to his.

At a hearing at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court on March 20, he also pleaded guilty to the theft of the television, safe and jewellery and admitted to stealing 12 chocolate bars to the value of £12 from B&M back in February.