Maidstone thief sentenced for defrauding pensioners

A Maidstone woman who stole from vulnerable pensioners has been sentenced to more than two years’ imprisonment after a scam involving a bogus police officer and housing warden. 

Emma Fuggles defrauded almost £700 from her two elderly victims, after bank cards were stolen from their homes last year. 

Posed as police 

At 7pm on 9 September 2022, an associate of Fuggles visited a Maidstone address, posing as a police officer.

She convinced a man he was suspected of offences and persuaded him to hand over bank cards and their PINs, threatening him with arrest if he didn’t.

The woman left with the cards under the pretence she was going to call her sergeant to discuss the alleged case against the victim. 

Fuggles, 45, of Roseholme, Maidstone, acted as a getaway driver and £500 was withdrawn from a cash machine.

Wearing a 'security' badge, Fuggles and her accomplice returned to the victim’s home address the following day but fled when the victim said he had called the police.

Burglary

Just days later, at around 6.30am on 12 September, Fuggles let herself into the home of a second vulnerable victim, this time posing as a housing officer.

She stole the elderly man's bank card and made two withdrawals from a local cash machine, totalling over £150, before returning to the property.

This time, the victim’s care assistant was on scene who asked Fuggles for identification. She went to her car claiming she would retrieve her ID card but, instead, drove away.

Sentenced

Fuggles appeared before Maidstone Crown Court where she pleaded guilty to two counts of theft, two counts of fraud by false representation and a charge of burglary. 

On Friday 10 February 2023 she was sentenced to two years and four months’ imprisonment.

Investigating officer, DC Mark Beeching of Maidstone CID said:

‘Fuggles repeatedly exploited vulnerable members of the community for her own financial gain. What’s worse, in both instances she brazenly returned to the scene of the crime to take further advantage of them.‘Fuggles is a prolific offender with a history of criminal activity, so it is right that she serves time behind bars after failing to amend her ways.’