Colchester dad Simon Lee defauded grandad of £40,000

Heartless Simon Lee, 45, pawned sentimental items and lied to his loved ones in order to fuel a relentless gambling addiction he had lived with since the age of 16.

Lee, who is unable to repay the money, was jailed for six years at Chelmsford Crown Court today (January 27) after leaving a “legacy of misery and family disruption” in his wake.

“This was mean, cynical, targeted, persistent, upsetting and cowardly conduct towards family members,” said Judge David Turner KC.

“This was a betrayal of your position and exploitation of them in a quite shameful way.”

Behind bars - Simon Lee (Image: Essex Police)

Lee, of Rawlings Crescent, Colchester, admitted nine counts of fraud, two counts of theft and two counts of burglary.

Stephen Wells, prosecuting, said Lee’s selfish campaign spanned seven years between 2014 and 2020.

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He revealed Lee took £2,000 from a savings account set up for his youngest daughter and stole money from the bank account of his then wife.

The court heard Lee also raided a box full of sentimental treasures at their family home in Colchester and snatched bracelets which were to be given to his daughters on their 18th birthday.

Sentence - Chelmsford Crown Court (Image: Google Maps)

“Charms had been added onto those bracelets to commemorate special events,” added Mr Wells.

“[His wife] saw one of the bracelets for sale in a pawnbrokers in Colchester’s town centre in January 2019 and reported this to the police.”

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As the grip of Lee’s gambling addiction showed no sign of loosening, he also began defrauding his grandfather of significant sums of money.

Lee burgled his elderly relative twice and took photographs of bank cards and cheques.

Burglaries - Lee, of Colchester, also burgled his grandfather's house on two separate occasions (Image: Newsquest)

Mr Wells said in total Lee defrauded his grandfather, now aged 94, of £37,548.

Alison Gurden, mitigating, said her client is remorseful for his actions and has “turned himself around quite considerably” while on remand in prison.

“This was due to his gambling, all of this offending was just due to his gambling,” she added.

A restraining order was made preventing Lee from contacting his grandfather for five years.

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