A paralegal has been sentenced to 20 months imprisonment after she fraudulently used cheques and cash withdrawals to take money from clients for whom the firm was appointed attorney.
Emma Amey, who worked at law firm in her home town of Poole, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position at Poole Magistrates’ Court on 14th May 2025 after she fabricated cheques and used debit cards to withdraw cash and pay for personal transactions. The fraudulent activity took place between October 2021 and October 2023, involving two male victims who were living in residential homes.
An investigation began in February 2024 after a cheque was identified as potentially fraudulent, and returned to the firm. Upon further investigation the cheque stub was made out to a care company, but the cheque itself was addressed to Amey. When confronted, Amey explained she altered the name of the payee to her own name using an erasable pen once they had been signed by a representative of the firm. In total she stole £11,568,
During sentencing, the judge described Amey’s actions as ‘despicable and contrived’. Detective Constable Lucy Hale, of the Economic Crime Unit, added
“Emma Amey was entrusted with looking after the day-to-day finances of vulnerable and she abused her position for personal gain making deliberate attempts to avoid detection.
“We are committed to investigating reports such as this to ensure that fraudsters are held to account for their offending. This type of crime has the potential to impact the public’s confidence in the power of attorney scheme and I am pleased that we were able to restore some trust and make sure that the defendant was brought to justice.”
Amey was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday 11 July 2025 to 20 months imprisonment.
