Women stole £600k from estates of the deceased over 12 years

A pair of women from Tamworth have been jailed for stealing a whopping £600,000 from deceased people's estates in a calculated fraud scheme carried out for more than a decade. Laurna Porter and Julie Atkins from Tamworth stole from a total of 23 estates by diverting money to generate a "significant amount of money."

Porter, 69, used her role in a law practice and a firm of solicitors to steal from clients. She would then move the stolen funds into Julie Atkins' bank account, when they would share their ill-gotten gains.

The Staffordshire fraudsters were able to operate their scam for 12 years from 2006 to 2018, when they were both arrested, said Staffordshire Police. They were both jailed today, April 25, at Stafford Crown Court.

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Staffordshire Police said Laurna Porter was a probate manager employed by a law practice and a firm of solicitors in Tamworth. While working there, Porter stole in excess of £600,000 from various clients through a variety of means.

In the majority of these cases, proceeds of the estates of the deceased were initially diverted by Porter to the accounts of her pal Julie Atkins. Evidence showed that thefts had taken place in estates handled by Porter between 2006 and 2018.

Money was paid into Julie Atkins bank account, who would then share some of that money back to Laurna Porter’s bank account. Restriction orders were imposed on the finances of both women.

Porter and Atkins were both arrested at their home addresses on April 10 2018. A total of 23 estates have been found to have had money stolen from them, the force said.

DS Andrew Shorthouse of Staffordshire Police, said: “We welcome the Judge's sentences given to Laurna Porter and Julie Atkins today. The fraud was targeted and systematic over a long period of time and could not have been successful without the repeated dishonest actions of both. Porter held a position where trust had to be placed in her by those whose estates she managed; that trust was breached.”

Specialist Prosecutor Anamarie Coomansingh from the CPS said: “This was a calculated fraud over a period of 13 years, which generated a significant amount of money. Laurna Porter breached her legal duties as a probate manager and abused her position of trust in taking funds from life-saving charities, as well as from families of the deceased.

“It must have been particularly distressing for the families and friends, who simply want to see their loved one’s last wishes properly executed. The CPS will now seek to recover any available criminal proceeds from the defendants, in order to compensate the beneficiaries.”

Laurna Porter, 69, Tamworth, was jailed for four years today, Thursday April 25 at Stafford Crown Court. She pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position and money laundering at the same court in October 2022.

Julie Atkins, 68, of Tamworth, was also jailed today, for two and a half years, after she was found guilty of money laundering on February 5 2024 following a trial at Stafford Crown Court.