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Rebecca Leveridge, 52, quietly “siphoned off” nearly £25,000 of Danny Gray’s money after he entrusted her to help look after his finances when he became ill. A court heard the couple, who had been together 20 years despite never marrying, kept separate bank accounts but Gray gave Leveridge £5,000 to keep safe, to cover his funeral expenses.

He was told he had six months to live in May 2018 but lived for a further two years, during which time Leveridge took on a “caring role” but kept quiet when Mr Gray’s £36,350 pension lump sum went into his Barclays account.

She also failed to mention a £595-a-month personal independence allowance he applied for had commenced, Leicestershire Live says, and she began helping herself to the money.

The dishonesty came to light months before Mr Gray died, aged 60, and Leveridge was eventually arrested.

But the shameless mother, from Croft, Leicestershire, was spared immediate jail as a judge suspended her 16-month sentence for two years.

Sentencing at Leicester Crown Court, Judge Ebrahim Mooncey said: “Your mitigation started with an apology to anyone who may have been hurt by what happened. We could hear some grumbles about that (in the public gallery).

“Understandably that’s how some of Mr Gray’s family and friends reacted because they feel a deep sense of loss for Mr Gray, at what was the autumn of his life and things could have been better for him. They thought that, after 20 years together, that’s when your support and care for him should have been at its’ maximum.

“They either rejected your apology or took it with a huge pinch of salt. I hope, in time, they do see the bigger picture and see that you did have mostly good times during 20 years of togetherness.

“I accept you are sorry for what happened. You and Mr Gray never married, you don’t have children together and maintained separate financial affairs.

“Had you and he married, your position may have been different, but we have to base matters on as they are.” The judge said Leveridge never told Mr Gray that two streams of money, a pension lump sum and an allowance had been paid into his account.

“Instead you took the money for yourself and it was transferred to your account using a banking app. You spent the £5,000 given to you by Mr Gray, for his funeral expenses, and in the fullness of time you gave about half of it back but didn’t give the rest back because you felt hard done by and were told to leave the property.

“I accept there’s no evidence the money went on luxuries and there’s no suggestion of a secret gambling habit. Your biggest loss is the loss of your previous good character. I see no benefit to the public in locking you up.”

The defendant was ordered to pay Barclays Bank £2,000 towards compensation.

The court heard she had frittered Mr Gray’s money away, including by paying off a £2,500 credit card, giving her daughter £1,600 and another £1,000, as well as spending £1,000 on a bathroom upgrade at Mr Gray’s home.

When Mr Gray asked his sister Diane to follow up the overdue pension and allowance money he was expecting, Leveridge’s crimes were uncovered. Mr Gray cut her out of his will and she was detained by Leicestershire Police.

Mr Gray ordered the woman out of his home and his family took over his care.

Leveridge, a part-time retail worker, pleaded guilty to theft of £24,700 and defrauding Mr Gray out of a further £5,000 – of which she repaid just £2,250 and nothing more.

Barclays Bank refunded the stolen money in full but it coincided with Mr Gray’s death in September 2020.

Steven Taylor, prosecuting, said: “Sadly he’d (Mr Gray) been deprived of the money and didn’t know if he was ever going to get it back.

“For the last two years of his life, when suffering from cancer, he didn’t get any of the benefit of it for himself or spend it in the way he would have liked.”

The court heard the lack of financial security made Mr Gray, who had two adult sons, unnecessarily feel like a burden to his family.

He worried about not leaving them as much money as he wished. However, his estate was reimbursed.

Sarah Wyeth, defending Leveridge, said: “She wants everyone to know how sorry she is. She’s bitterly remorseful for her actions.

“If she went into custody she’d lose her job. It’s accepted Mr Gray was vulnerable at the time of the offending and there was a degree of trust, but she did not have Power of Attorney.”

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