KAREN LEAHY RECEIVES SUSPENDED SENTENCE FOR FRAUD AGAINST DAUGHTER

Cheshire Police said Karen Leahy opened multiple bank accounts in her daughter’s name without her knowledge between 2015 and 2024. Her daughter discovered more than £18,000 in outstanding debt when she tried to access her finances, police said. Leahy pleaded guilty to 11 counts of fraud by false representation. Chester Crown Court sentenced her on Friday to 15 months in prison, suspended for 24 months.

The daughter also found two county court judgments against her, according to police. Cheshire Police said she had never taken out the finance herself. She reported what she had found to the force, which arrested Leahy. Detective Constable Vickie Wallace, of Northwich, said Leahy used fake email addresses and accounts to obtain thousands of pounds in her daughter’s name. Leahy’s home town is unclear: both Winsford and Marton, Cheshire, are given.

Wallace said the daughter had been unable to obtain loans or other personal finance. She said this had affected the woman’s ability to buy items for herself and her family. Wallace described the daughter as having been “betrayed by her own mother” and said the case had a lasting impact on her. She added: “I hope that the conclusion of this case, and the sentence handed to her mother will provide her with some closure and allow her to move forward with her life.”