'Doting and caring niece' jailed for conning her 84-year-old uncle out of more than £200,000

A woman who was supposed to be caring for her elderly uncle "concocted a web of lies" to steal more than £200,000.

Pamela Urvoy used the money to buy a house in Blackburn which she promised would be in both of their names, but in reality only belonged to her.

Preston Crown Court heard that in 2008 Urvoy's uncle suffered a serious stroke which left him unable to live an independent life. Shortly after his stroke, Urvoy moved into his home in Padiham, Burnley, to act as his carer.

In 2013, a new property was purchased in Garsden Avenue in Blackburn for £230,000 and the victim believed this was a joint venture between himself and Urvoy and ownership of the house was split between them.

But after Urvoy's uncle was temporarily placed in a care home, social services became concerned about who was looking after his finances and launched an investigation.

Checks with Land Registry showed that the property in Garsden Avenue was solely in Urvoy’s name.

She initially claimed that the majority of the money for the purchase – £203,000 - had come from an inheritance, but when asked for proof, Urvoy later claimed her uncle had gifted her the money.

The court also heard the victim was sleeping in a cellar basement room, ill cared for which caused serious concerns to social services.

Urvoy, of Garsden Avenue, Blackburn, was charged with two counts of fraud by false representation. The first relating to her uncle and the second relating to the claim she made to the conveyance that she was the sole purchaser of the property.

Urvoy was jailed on Friday 14 November for four years, but her uncle did not live to see justice as he died in March 2024.

A Proceeds of Crime Act hearing will take place at a later date when the exact amount Urvoy benefitted from her fraud will be determined. Any assets she has will be seized off her at that point in order to ensure she does not benefit financially from her criminality.

DC Jo Billington, from Lancashire Police, said: “Through no fault of his own the victim in this case found himself in a position where he was unable to independently look after himself or his finances.

"He then put his faith in a person he should have been able to trust – his niece Pamela Urvoy.

“Under the rouse of playing the doting and caring niece, Urvoy concocted a web of lies to defraud her elderly and sick uncle out of his life savings. She then attempted to con those responsible for facilitating the house purchase.

“Having worked to ensure his later years in life would be comfortable financially, it must have come as a great shock to find out that all of his money had gone. And the person responsible for doing that was a family member.

“Despite the evidential difficulties of the victim having died, the passage of time we will endeavour to seek truth and get justice for the victim.”

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