A teenager’s inheritance of £ 38,000 stolen by his father… Blow him up on drugs, drinking and vacation

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The father who stole his teenage son’s inheritance and puffed him up on drink, drugs and vacation avoided going straight to prison.

Daniel Caulfield, 38, stole more than £38,000 that his mother had left to his son for her grandson.

However, when he turned eighteen and asked for money which he discovered was all gone, the court listened.

A judge said it was hard to imagine a more “despicable” crime – but the 38-year-old Caulfield from South Wales was given a suspended sentence.

Danielle Caulfield’s mother had set up a savings fund for her grandson to be given to him when he turned 18, Wells reports online.

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However, when the kind grandmother passed away, the defendant became the custodian of the accounts – and soon plundered them.

In 2010 Caulfield’s mother put money into the National Savings and Investments accounts of her grandson, Caulfield’s estranged son, Swansea Crown Court heard.

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Prosecutor Helen Randall said the woman died in 2015, at which time there was £38,167.99 in the account.

Since the beneficiary of the account is not yet 18 years old, his sister has joined the trustees.

However, unknown to his brother Caulfield, he emptied the accounts and spent all the money.

The court heard that when the teenager turned 18, he wrote to his father and aunt asking for money, but his father replied that he had nothing left and spent it all on drugs and alcohol.

Caulfield was sentenced at Swansea Crown Court in South Wales (Photo: Western Mail)

The police were alerted and in his subsequent interview at the Llanelli police station, Caulfield admitted the mistake and said he was sorry.

In an impact statement read out in court, the teenage victim said he planned to use the money to go to college or put it into buying a home.

Daniel Richard Caulfield, now from Milton, Tenby, Pembrokeshire, has admitted to the fraud.

The defendant previously had two convictions, from 2005 and 2008, of driving under the influence.

Defending Caulfield, John Olchurch said his behavior was “reprehensible and unforgivable” and that he had let his son down.

He said that the defendant ran a carpet cleaning business and had experienced financial hardship as a result of health problems caused by his drug use.

He told the court that some of the lost money was spent on a holiday but most of it went to alcohol and drugs – “which the defendant is not proud of”.

The lawyer added that the defendant wanted to put in place a “payment plan” to pay the amounts to his son.

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Judge Paul Thomas QC told Caulfield that it was hard to imagine a more “despicable” crime than the one he committed. He said the defendant was “absolutely unhelpful” in providing details of exactly where the money had gone, and that it was “far from being satisfied” that the court knew exactly what had happened.

However, he said those matters would be left to the financial investigation into the Proceeds of Crime Act that would now follow.

The judge said he hoped the accused had found five days in pretrial detention since his adjourned sentencing hearing last week a “miserable experience” and said he was satisfied with the contents of a pre-sentencing report that concluded there was a realistic prospect of rehabilitation in his case.

Giving the defendant a one-third deduction on his guilty plea, the judge sentenced him to a 20-month prison sentence suspended for two years and ordered him to complete a 240-hour unpaid work and rehabilitation course.

Caulfield broke down in tears in the dock upon sentencing.

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