Woman jailed for conning ex-FT journalist and Alzheimer’s sufferer Sir Samuel Brittan out of £117k

A woman who defrauded a former Financial Times journalist with Alzheimer’s out of £117,000 has been jailed.

Michelle Brathwaite, 48, of Notting Hill, posed as Sir Samuel Brittan’s friend and helper – claiming she had a Cambridge University degree – to gain his and his family’s trust.

Sir Samuel was knighted in 1993 for “services to economic journalism”. He is the elder brother of late former home secretary Leon Brittan, who served in Margaret Thatcher’s government.

Between August 2016 and April 2017, Brathwaite transferred £117,000 from his bank accounts to her own. She used his American Express credit card to fund holidays and buy designer clothes.

Officers from City of London Police began investigating when they were notified by Sir Samuel’s bank of irregular card use.

Brathwaite was sentenced to five years and eight months in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, having admitted three counts of fraud and one count of theft in December last year.

During sentencing, judge Nicholas Loraine Smith described Brathwaite as "an extraordinarily dishonest and deceitful woman whose only intention was to steal his money and enjoy it”.

Det Cons Alex Wilson, from City of London Police, said: “Brathwaite abused her position of trust to steal thousands of pounds from a vulnerable man who thought she was there to help him.

“By posing as Sir Samuel's friend, she was able to completely control his finances without him noticing and went to considerable lengths to deny these crimes when she was confronted."