Woman stole £30k from grandmother to feed online gambling addiction

Businesswoman who stole more than £30,000 from her own grandmother, 89, to feed secret online gambling addiction breaks down in tears as she is spared jail

• Tracey Holgate, 40, set up online banking for her grandmother and stole £30k
• The dog walker from Crewe siphoned money from widow Doreen Gleave, 89
• Over six years £15k taken from Mrs Gleave’s pension and spent on gambling sites
• ‘Heartbroken’ grandmother says Holgate is in ‘complete denial’ over ‘problems’

A callous businesswoman who stole £30,000 from her own grandmother over a six year period to feed a secret gambling addiction wept as she was spared jail.

Tracey Holgate, 40, set up a mobile banking account for 89-year-old widow Doreen Gleave – only to then use it to siphon off money into her own account between 2013 and 2019.

More than £15,000 of the stolen money was taken directly from Mrs Gleave’s pension payments and was spent on various gambling websites.

Holgate would also make a habit of asking her grandmother to loan her money, only for her to repay her a fraction of the sum in cash or not at all. When asked where her money was going Holgate would respond: ‘Things are expensive these days.’

Tracey Holgate (pictured outside Manchester Crown Court), 40, from Alsagar near Crewe, Cheshire stole £30,000 from her own grandmother over a six year period to feed a secret gambling addiction

Holgate (pictured) initially denied fraud but eventually changed her plea to guilty and was sentenced to 23-months jail suspended for 18 months 

Mrs Gleave, from Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire was left so poor due to the thefts that she was unable to pay her household monthly utility bill. At one she couldn’t even afford to buy a new pair of shoes.

The fraud was uncovered when her son Brian became suspicious and obtained statements showing thousands of illicit bank transfers.

At Manchester Crown Court, Holgate, from Alsagar near Crewe, Cheshire who runs a dog walking business, initially denied fraud but eventually changed her plea to guilty and was handed a 23-month sentence suspended for 18 months.

The thefts occurred after Mrs Gleave’s husband Roy passed away in January 2013.

Mark Kellet, prosecuting said: ‘Shortly after his death, the defendant offered to help her grandmother manage her finances and a mobile banking facility was set up on Doreen Gleave’s Lloyds bank account.

‘She was not aware of that facility being set up, though she was asked to sign documents by her niece without ever understanding what she was signing. Doreen describes how approximately £1,200 per month would be paid into this account. This came from her late husband’s pension and her own pension.’

‘Your actions have had tragic consequences. Your criminality has torn your family apart and put unnecessary strain on your elderly grandmother,’ Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told Holgate sentencing her at sentencing at Manchester Crown Court (pictured)

Mr Kellet added: ‘Doreen also says that on the odd occasion, Tracey Holgate would ask to borrow £30 to £40, promising to repay the money. Doreen was happy to help her granddaughter but did expect, as agreed, that the loans would be repaid.

‘Although she agreed to loans, the money was never paid back. In around 2018, the defendant asked her grandmother to help with a bank loan of £8,000. Doreen obtained the loan for her but the defendant never repaid the money.

‘In 2019, the defendant’s dog, Dudley, needed veterinary treatment and the bill was £400. Doreen Gleave offered to help and pay £100 towards the bill.

‘Eventually in December 2019 Doreen realised she was short of money and asked her son Brian to help her as she needed to buy new shoes. He was concerned because he was aware that his mother received at least £200 per week and was not spending all her money.’

When Mr Gleave and his mother contacted Holgate and asked for access to online bank statements, they were dismissed and told ‘Leave me alone – I’m not dealing with this.’

When Mr Gleave insisted on the username and password, he got the response: ‘You will see transactions in my name, but I have done nothing wrong. Don’t tell anyone, I don’t want anyone to know, don’t tell nana or my mum.’

She later went to her grandmother’s house and repaid £50. Mr Gleave eventually obtained the statements and saw ‘thousands’ of payments had been made from Doreen’s account directly to Holgate. Police went through her bank account and saw had spent £15,000 over an 18-month period on gambling apps and websites.

In a statement Mrs Gleave said: ‘I have always loved and respected Tracey and I can’t believe she has done this to me. I am losing sleep over this. I feel worried for her, we have offered help and asked if she has a problem and if we can help but she is in complete denial, leaving me heartbroken and with her no longer talking to anybody.’

In mitigation for Holgate, defence counsel Rachel Oakdene said: ‘She fell into a cycle of taking the money to address her faltering dog walking business and to support her gambling habit. She denies that she has a gambling addiction but admitted that she did send money to the Gala Bingo and Paddy Power websites.

‘Her pre-sentence report clearly shows the deep shame and embarrassment that she has felt since. There has been a split in the family as a result of her actions. It was a close-knit family before this but it has now split into those who support the complainant and those like her mother, who is in court today, who support the defendant.

‘She has a long-term partner and has longstanding health issues. She is no threat to the public.’

Sentencing Holgate, Judge Elizabeth Nicholls told her: ‘Your actions have had tragic consequences. Your criminality has torn your family apart and put unnecessary strain on your elderly grandmother.

‘Although online banking is common, and it is not unheard of for younger family members to help elderly relatives with it, what is concerning was that youn had such carte blanche access to her account.

‘You decided to start taking money from her account and sending it to your own then confronted by your uncle, you became obstructive or to put it another way you started to flee your own crime. Your grandmother trusted you and you breached that trust.’

Holgate was also ordered to complete 10 rehabilitation days and 120 hours of unpaid work. She must repay £8000 back to Mrs Gleave at a rate of £50 a week over the next three years.

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