Gary Mansell and his wife Diane’s actions were described as a “despicable display of greed and vanity”
Gary Mansell and his wife Diane’s actions were described as a “despicable display of greed and vanity”
A husband and wife who defrauded their vulnerable family out of more than £100,000 leaving them with 28p are challenging their sentences. Gary Mansell and his wife Diane defrauded his elderly parents for three and a half years while acting as their power of attorney.
The starry eyed lovers, who “dreamt of becoming millionaires”, were convicted of fraud and money laundering at Liverpool Crown Court in late 2023. Judge David Swinnerton called the pair’s actions a “despicable display of greed and vanity” and sentenced them to six years in prison.
But the husband and wife, previously of Camp Road in Woolton, are listed before the Court of Appeal on Friday. The ECHO understands they are to challenge both their original conviction and their length of prison term handed down by the sentencing judge.
To successfully overturn their convictions the Mansells legal teams will have to show the convictions were unsafe, meaning their was a wrong decision on a question of law or new evidence had arisen that was unavailable at the time.
Liverpool Crown Court previously heard how Mansell’s parents, Fred and Enid, had moved out of their family home in October 2017 after the former had a serious fall. Meanwhile his wife also had dementia.
The pair had lived in the house for more than 50 years, owned two cars and had healthy cash in the bank because of their state and work pensions.
Gary and Diane Mansell moved the elderly couple into their house and were appointed power of attorney. Once in position they sold the family home for considerably under the asking price and used the money to convert their garage into a living area.
They kept social workers away from the house, “controlled” the elderly pair, fed them nothing but ready meals and kept them shut away. Meanwhile Gary and his wife holidayed in Jamaica, Cape Verde and took trips to the Grand Hotel in York. Diane Mansell spent £9k on dental work, drove a gold BMW with a private plate and had an extensive collection of luxury handbags.
They also made over 100 withdrawals from their parents’ bank account. In total the prosecution believed around £218k had been stripped away. The prosecution eventually settled on £117,000 as a figure for the extent of the fraud after “generously estimating” the costs of the garage conversion and living costs.
Despite living a life of luxury off the funds, Diane hated looking after the pair and claimed she was “used and abused by the b*******”. Enid died before her son faced criminal proceedings for his crimes, while Fred told the court in 2023 that he “did not want to be here anymore”.
Diane Mansell’s lawyer told the court that she was “the glue” for her side of the family, while her glue was Gary. He added: “The glue will come apart [while in prison], and I hope she uses the time usefully and reengages with her family.” Gary Mansell was said to have health difficulties likely to be exasperated in prison.
Sentencing, Judge Swinnerton told them: “This is an example of how a family can be destroyed by vanity and greed. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Merseyside Police Constable Danny Molyneux previously told the ECHO: “The defendants were placed into a position of trust which they betrayed, to leave the victim with no money and no home. Merseyside Police will seek to protect the most vulnerable in society and pursue those who take advantage to benefit themselves.
“Gary and Diane abused their position of trust which had a devastating impact on the couple. It was clear that they had no regard or compassion for their victims and will now be left to consider the full consequences of their actions behind bars. Fraud can and does devastate families.”
