Lynn Harrison, who's Auntie Betty was conned out of thousands of pounds of savings by a carer (Andrew Cawley/ Sunday Post)

A WOMAN turned detective to expose a carer who stole thousands from the elderly after being “repeatedly fobbed off by the police”.

Disgusted Lynn Harrison discovered carer Margo Alongi drained more than £40,000 from her dying auntie Betty Lynch’s bank account.

She reported the matter to Police Scotland but claims she felt “virtually ignored” – despite a weight of evidence proving Alongi had stolen from Betty, 78, and another elderly gentleman.

Undeterred, Lynn investigated the case herself, gathering evidence and even enlisting local MP George Kerevan to help, until she was taken seriously.

“I was fobbed off continually by the police with excuses.

“Other more serious crimes were taking a priority,” said Lynn.

“Since when was robbing a vulnerable person not a crime.”

“At one point I was even told the Commonwealth Games were consuming police time.”

Betty Lynch (whose money was stolen) with her sister

Fearless Lynn’s constant badgering resulted in officers being able to send a report to the procurator fiscal, but only after a nine-month tussle.

Heartless Alongi, 54 – who continued to care for Betty because the family did not want to break her heart and tell her a person she trusted had stolen from her – received a two-year sentence last week to Lynn’s quiet satisfaction.

Her remarkable quest for justice was sparked days before frail Betty died in January 2014.

As executor of her will, Lynn was passed Betty’s final bank statement.

But when she looked at it, she was shocked.

She immediately spotted a pattern of ATM withdrawals – all for the maximum permitted sum, £300 – which could not have been made by Betty.

The figures were astronomical and ran to thousands of pounds.

The card had been used countless times to pay for goods at Tesco and even to pay for new car tyres, which was highly fishy as Betty didn’t drive.

“It was clear someone had been helping themselves to thousands of pounds from my aunt’s account,” said Lynn.

The total sum taken came to £43,600.

Suspicion immediately fell on Alongi, who worked for Allan-Ross Home Care, and had been appointed Betty’s carer in 2010.

Alongi had quickly convinced Betty to get a cash card, something the cerebral palsy sufferer had never needed before, as her condition made it nigh on impossible to punch in a PIN number.

“Margo said she would collect her cash and get her shopping,” explained Lynn. “My aunt told the family she was happy with the arrangement as she completely trusted her – loved her, even. As this woman was employed in a position of care, we had to respect my aunt’s wishes.”

But unknown to anyone, the woman who was meant to be caring for Betty was in fact helping herself to her money.

“From the minute Margo got her hands on my aunt’s card, she made constant cash withdrawals.

“She even withdrew £300 from my aunt’s account when she was lying on her death bed.

“It sickened me when I discovered that.”

Lynn wanted to blow the whistle on Alongi there and then but Betty’s sister Jessie, 86, insisted they wait and carry on as normal, as dying Betty “loved” Alongi and would have been heartbroken at the news her so-called friend had stolen from her.

“Betty had no idea her money had been taken and trusted her completely,” Lynn said.

“She had groomed my aunt pretending to be her best friend.

“So we had no option but to let Margo continue to care for her.

“Margo even attended my aunt’s funeral.

“I couldn’t bear it when the time came to stand in the family line to thank the mourners because it meant shaking Margo Alongi’s hand.

“At one point during the funeral tea, Margo suggested to my mum that she could look after her and take her to the bingo. That’s how it started with Betty, too. She groomed her.

“But my mum was wise to it obviously and thought, ‘Why don’t I just hand you my bank card now and have done,’ to herself.

“I was so keen to tell the police that I left the funeral tea early and headed straight for Musselburgh Police Office.”

But – following her initial three-hour complaint, made in person at a police station – progress was slow and Lynn was left feeling repeatedly fobbed off.

“I had to do most of the detective work myself,” said Lynn, an executive PA from Port Seton, East Lothian.

Lynn Harrison with her Auntie Betty (left)

She spent days examining bank statements.

Even then, despite presenting all the information to police, she felt she “wasn’t taken seriously”.

“For the majority of the time, we were running into the wind, with every obstacle that could be thrown at us, coming our way,” said Lynn. “I reported the crime to the police on February 4, 2014, and provided them with substantial information, including four years of printed bank statements.

“I highlighted all the irregularities and included details of who I suspected committed the crime and why.

“I had no previous dealings with the police and had assumed that when you reported a serious crime that it would be dealt with in a timely and efficient manner.

“That proved not to be the case.

“The police did very little to gather evidence, kept on postponing meetings with witnesses, fobbed me off continually with excuses, and told me more serious crimes were taking priority.

“I had to jump through hoops to get the police to deal with it efficiently.

“In the end, I made a formal complaint against the police and took the matter to my MP.

“It took nine months for a report to go to the procurator fiscal and nearly a further two years from then to get the case to trial.

“Fighting to get it investigated and then watching it proceed slowly showed the law is biased in favour of the criminal.

“Because of this, I feel compelled to tell my story, in the hope that changes will be made to the police and judicial system.”

Lynn is satisfied she took it upon herself to win justice for Betty.

“She always saw the best in people and Margo Alongi took full advantage of this,” said Lynn.

“I was determined to seek justice for my aunt and make sure this woman was never let near an elderly person’s bank account ever again.

“If I hadn’t acted in the way I did, it is likely she would have continued in her deceitful way.

“It would have been easy to give up but if you had known my aunt you would realise why we went all the way to get her justice.

“She was quite simply one of life’s good people.”

MP’s praise for ‘determined, courageous’ Lynn

CAMPAIGNING Lynn has been praised by East Lothian MP, George Kerevan.

He applauded her plucky resolve – which could now see her give evidence to the Scottish Parliament, which is currently carrying out a wide-ranging probe into the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

The SNP MP said: “This is a tragic case, but justice has triumphed thanks to the determination and courage of Lynn Harrison to bring to book the women who defrauded her dying aunt.

“Lynn pressed the police and the legal authorities until they took her aunt’s case seriously.

“I know that sometimes fraud cases are difficult to prove, especially if the victim was very old or suffered from dementia.

“But here Lynn had all the evidence on paper. The authorities should have moved faster.”

Force responds to criticism

POLICE Scotland has robustly denied dragging its heels.

A spokesman said: “A full investigation was carried out, which led to Margo Alongi being reported to the procurator fiscal.

“She has since appeared before Edinburgh Sheriff Court where she was found guilty of all charges and was sentenced on November 25. Police Scotland treats all reports of criminal activity with the utmost seriousness and the public can be assured all information received will be actioned appropriately.”

The Crown Office added: “This case was prosecuted within statutory timescales and the accused was convicted of their crimes.”

Carer also stole from Roy, 68

HEARTLESS Margo Alongi stole from another vulnerable pensioner in her care.

As well as stealing from Lynn’s aunt Betty, she also targeted Roy Scott, 68.

Detectives spoke to Roy – who has also since died – as part of their investigation. He had £2350 stolen from him by Alongi.

He confirmed that he had asked his carers to take his bank card and withdraw money for him for items such as food and cigarettes.

Most refused, saying they didn’t want access to his money, but Alongi quickly agreed.

Alongi produced a diary and claimed it listed all the times that she had taken money out for Roy.

She claimed Roy had signed each entry, but he said: “I never requested these withdrawals and the signature is not mine.”

Two experts who examined the signatures agreed they were not Roy’s.

Forensic scientist Jonathan Morris told the jury at Alongi’s trial: “The levels of difference were such that, in our opinion, there was no evidence that Roy Scott was responsible for the questioned signatures.”

Alongi, of Musselburgh, East Lothian, who denied two charges of fraud, was convicted by a majority jury following a 10-day trial at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The first offender was sentenced to two years on Friday.

Sheriff Fiona Tait said the nature of the offences and the sums involved meant there was no alternative to a custodial sentence.

Passing sentence, Sheriff Tait said: “The nature of these offences and the sums which were involved in defrauding two elderly people, each of whom was vulnerable for different reasons and you were entrusted with their care, means I am not persuaded there is an alternative to a custodial sentence.”

Defence solicitor Emma Templeton told the court Alongi’s five daughters have suffered aggression and hostility in the community since the case came to court.

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