Telford woman who forged ex-husband's signature for money after acrimonious divorce admits fraud
A woman has been ordered to pay £3,100 compensation to her ex-husband after she admitted three charges of fraud involving thousands of pounds in his name.
Sarah Cole, aged 44, of Reed Close, in St George's, Telford, had failed to close a joint account in her and her ex's name despite signing a witnessed agreement with him after their bitter divorce, Telford magistrates were told.
The court heard on Tuesday that Sarah and Paul Cole had divorced following a two-and-a-half year marriage when they "spent beyond their means" putting huge strain on their relationship.
She admitted to depositing a cheque in Paul Cole's name to a joint account before transferring it and intending to make a gain of £3,720.68, for herself in 2022.
She also pleaded guilty to completing a Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) claim for £2,918.82 in his name and paying in his cheques, and admitted a similar charge for dishonestly making a false representation for a credit card PPI claim of £251.35. Both offences occurred in 2019.
Mrs Katie Price, prosecuting, said Mrs Cole was of good character until these matters.
"It was not the easiest of divorces," she told the bench of three magistrates, saying that Mrs Cole had forged her ex-husband's signature and kept a joint bank account open.
Mrs Price said that the couple had been married in May 2017 but divorced in July 2019 with the matters being finalised in May 2020.
