Peterborough fraudster used elderly grandmother’s bank card to buy £6.5k caravan

Michael Falco (23) visited his grandmother on June 29 last year and the following day, while she was out shopping, her bank card was declined.

She checked her balance and found a payment to V&G Caravans for a Bailey Senator Carolina 2007. She was told her grandson had purchased the caravan over the phone the previous day and paid an extra £44 to store it on a nearby campsite.

The woman was refunded the money by her bank at the expense of V&G Caravans after telling them he did not have permission to make the transaction.

Falco was arrested on September 17 and during his interview admitted to using the card to buy the caravan, which he had later sold on for just £2,500, telling officers it “wasn’t worth” what he had paid.

Falco, of Queens Walk, Peterborough, appeared at Peterborough Crown Court on Friday (July 26) where he was jailed for 42 weeks after pleading guilty to fraud by false representation and breach of a suspended sentence order.

Sgt Iain Lawie said: “Falco’s actions left a small independent business significantly out of pocket.

“It’s appalling that he chose to use his elderly grandmother’s money, without her permission, and then sold the caravan for less than half of what he paid.”