Wiltshire man who stole tens of thousands of pounds from elderly parents jailed
He attempted to bully them and his ex-partner into dropping the allegations
Last updated 14th Aug 2025
A Wiltshire man who stole tens of thousands of pounds from his elderly parents and then attempted to bully them and his ex-partner into dropping the allegations has been jailed.
Yesterday (Wednesday 13 August) at Swindon Crown Court, Brett Conway, 66, formerly of Bouverie Park, Stanton St Quintin, was sentenced to six years and eight months’ imprisonment following two trials by jury.
Both his parents have now sadly died.
Police say between December 2017 and June 2018, Conway took advantage of his elderly parents’ frailties and vulnerabilities by independently transferring almost £52,000 out of the joint account of his father, who was suffering from severe dementia, and his elderly mother.
He claimed it was for mortgage payments and building work on the property in which his parents lived, which Conway owned.
During the investigation however, it was established that much of the money stolen was being used to cover Conway’s increasing and substantial credit card debt of more than £75,000.
The money also helped fund his lavish lifestyle including multiple foreign holidays a year.
When Conway was challenged by his mother over her shrunken bank balance, he accepted what he had done but flatly refused to reimburse his parents or co-operate to reach a non-criminal solution.
The court heard how following his initial arrest on suspicion of theft, Conway then waged an obsessive and escalated campaign against both his former partner, who had provided a witness statement, and his parents in an attempt for the criminal case to be dropped.
Following an investigation by the Wiltshire Police Complex Fraud Team, he was charged with two counts of theft and one count of perverting the course of justice.
Det Con Rachael Fairbairn of the Fraud team said: “Conway is a manipulative individual who took advantage of his elderly and vulnerable parents by stealing tens of thousands of pounds from them.
“The financial loss in this case, as with many fraud investigations, came second to the emotional trauma he inflicted. The court heard how Conway’s behaviour became increasingly cruel and bullying to anyone or any organisation that stood in his way, meaning he was exhausting and sometimes frightening to deal with.
“That brazen behaviour only made the damage caused to his victims all the more painful. They couldn’t quite believe what was happening and it just went on and on, subjecting his elderly and vulnerable family to a seemingly endless campaign of bullying.
“In desperation, they even told him he could keep all the money if he simply left them alone. He didn’t and they realised a criminal investigation was the only way to stop him.
“It’s very sad that the victims have died before the matter was concluded at court but I am pleased Conway will now face justice for his actions.”
Action is now underway to recover the money through the Proceeds of Crime Act.