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Eccles ‘fraudster’ jailed after scamming elderly neighbour out of more than £100,000

"It was heartless and they preyed on him because of his age."

Emily Sergeant - 17th February 2025

A man from Eccles has been jailed after scamming his vulnerable elderly neighbour out of more than £100,000.

It comes after an extensive investigation by detectives in Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Economic Crime Unit, which was launched after a reported to police that it believed ‘suspicious activity’ was taking place in a 76-year-old man’s bank account.

It was quickly established that the victim was a neighbour of Lee Hodson and his girlfriend Jennifer Picken in Eccles.

Hodson was able to dupe and deceive his way into being named on the victim’s financial accounts by creating online access while posing as the victim, which he did by stealing confidential post, personal paperwork, and the victim’s private information – such as date of birth, phone numbers, previous addresses, occupations, and his National Insurance number, all in order to pass online security checks.

Hodson successfully impersonated the victim and proceeded to set up online accounts using his own contact details, and also used his girlfriend’s bank account to launder the money.

That’s not all either, as Hodson also sadly updated the victim’s pensions and state benefits so that they would be paid directly into his own account without flagging bank security.

#JAILED | An investigation led by our Economic Crime Unit was launched after a bank reported to police they believed suspicious activity was taking place in a 76-year-old man’s bank account.

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— Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) February 16, 2025

The victim’s bank finally contacted the police after a total of was £230,742.39 was withdrawn from the victim’s account to Picken’s bank account in June 2021 – with the money then being withdrawn, spent, and dispersed across multiple accounts and family members.

Hodson and Picken were subsequently arrested.

After police obtained enough evidence, Hodson was charged with multiple offences including fraud, burglary, escape from lawful custody, assault with intent to resist arrest, and money laundering, while Picken was also charged with fraud and money laundering offences.

Hodson was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering, escaping lawful custody, impersonating a police officer, and burglary offences.

Picken was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 150 hours of community service.

Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Tim Flint, who leads a team of fraud detectives in GMP’s Economic Crime Team, said: “We were investigating a well-planned fraud which ultimately targeted an elderly gentleman out of £100,000.

“It was heartless and they preyed on him because of his age.

“Their despicable actions have had a devastating impact on the victim who has now sadly passed away and now his surviving relatives have had to endure a trial.”

Featured Image – GMP