Could I be charged with fraud?

[BiscoffCheesecakes]

My dad died a few years ago & he left his estate to me & my brother. My db asked me to look after his share of money. At the time he told me it was because he wasn't very responsible with money & I knew more about where to invest etc. So I've had all the money in my name in various accounts & just transferred him money if he needed it for holidays etc.

I'm not particularly close to him & didn't know much about his work situation. He's always been a bit cagey about it so i don't ask. I now know he is on benefits & after seeing a post on here recently, I realised he wanted me to look after his money so he could carry on receiving benefits.

If there are investigations in the future could I just say that I wasn't aware of his benefit situation? Or will I or he be charged with fraud?

Well turns out not that good… because you never seemed to probe your brother what other income he had or whether he even had a job.

What amount are we talking about?

At this point in time after all these years just carry on until it’s gone, it’s not your fault

It didn’t strike you as odd that someone you appear to have next to no relationship with asked you to take all his inheritance and then given him dribs and drabs?

I do understand - my accountant sister was good with money so helped me manage mine. But did you give him cash or transfer him money? If you transfered there would be a record in his account of it.

i cant access it. She wont give me money it is not legally mine. If i need something then she buys it for me. that is instead of her giving me the cash. I dont need to tell DWP when she buys me things.

Were you close to her?

did she at least know whether you had a job or not?

Ok so that implicates you directly. If you’d simply invested it for him you could argue you weren’t in touch & knew nothing about his finances. But you’ve been in touch passing it to him over the years so his claim that he wanted you to guard it so he didn’t spend it doesn’t ring true as he has been spending it.

How many years has this been going on? How much in total?

No because it wasn't some random person handing over money for me to look after. The money was already all together in the executor's account & he asked me to invest it all

This is completely incorrect.
I appreciate you probably meant well but that’s not how the law works.
Fraud offences can include additional parties as co-conspirators to put it in layman’s terms.

It's been nearly 4 years. He's had about 60% of the money, the majority spent on holidays. He is shit with money, having already been bankrupt many years ago. My OP didn't say that he didn't want to spend any, it said that he wasn't very responsible with money. I also said in my OP that I had been sending him his money when he wanted it

No she didn't. She didn't receive an inheritance, and her mother didn't gift her anything. She isn't responsible for her mother's decisions!

I have an adult daughter with substantial additional needs who will never work. She gets benefits and she lives with me. I inherited money from my late dad's estate last year. If I take her to the seaside for the day and treat her, that does not mean she is hiding an inheritance from the DWP!! And this is exactly the situation the poster is describing.

I don't know the legalities, but I'd never hold someone else's money. I imagine holding someone else's money could leave you open to being culpable of money laundering

That’s vastly different from the poster being gifted 10k, same as her siblings, but keeping it in her mother’s account.

She even refers to the fact that once ‘her’ 10k runs out she won’t get anymore, and that it was done to stop her spending it all quickly.

They both class it as her money (hence her concern at the thread in the first place). She will absolutely get away with it because it’s not on paper so no way if it being picked up. But it was absolutely done in a way to hide the fact she has the benefit of the 10k from the DWP.

How much does he have left?

It’s not the same situation!

Yes I believe that is how it was done - I’m totally sure it was all above board , it just seemed off of I’m honest as whilst odd ,she’s perfectly capable of trips away , managing her money day to day and living a normal life in her 50s , doesn’t need any kind of ongoing care. I do think it’s a bit of a questionable loophole that whilst totally appropriate in the right cases could be taken advantage of .

Isn't there a benefits fraud line to ring? Morally this is reprehensible as he should have declared his inheritance and come off benefits instead of continuing to suck from the tax payer.

There are far too many people on here that are blasé about giving an opinion in the form of legal advice. 😱
Politely if you don’t specialise in an area, don’t do anything more than an “I think…..”

I am a prosecuting fraud investigator and I would darn well be considering you as a potential co-conspirator. Sorry to scare you OP but if anything comes to light on this, you will be looked at!

Fraud can be committed on behalf of another person and there are several ways and laws about this!

What would probably be your saving grace will be the capacity to prove knowing/intent, and yes for criminal prosecution that is a high threshold BUT it’s not a get out of jail free card particular with an immediate family member 🤷🏻‍♀️

People also need to remember many employment contracts require you to disclose if you become subject to legal action and i swear hands down many employers would rather you be investigated for 💊 dealing than have a suspected fraudster in their midst 😬😬😬

I also can’t comment about what he could insinuate about you “keeping” his inheritance from him etc and executor responsibilities 🤷🏻‍♀️

I would 100% be depositing the whole amount to him by the weekend 😮‍💨

Let's be frank. You're complicant in hiding DB's money so he can carry on claiming benefits.

Fraud? No idea.
Morally bankrupt? 100%

Just stop with the faux innocence.