29 March 2024 , 22:59
554
0
A twisted former bomb disposal expert has been jailed after he stole nearly £500,000 from his dying father - leaving him with just 48p.
David Bickel, 58, took the money over six years from his father Peter, who was battling dementia. He even pocketed the proceeds from selling his house. Bickel, a dad-of-three from Attleborough, Norfolk, had been given lasting power of attorney over his father's finances. But his "sustained" thefts eventually meant 17 of Peter's relations - including three grandchildren, nieces and nephews - missed out on inheritances that he had left them in his will.
Norwich Crown Court heard Bickel he took £486,101.13 between his father's diagnosis of Alzheimer's in 2015 until shortly before he died aged 84 in 2021. The fraud came to light in April 2021 when his father was about to be evicted from his care home because of unpaid fees of more than £85,000.
David left his father with just 48p to his name after six years of 'sustained' thefts, Norwich Crown Court heard (East Anglia News Service)
He was jailed for four yearsProsecutor Danielle O'Donovan said it was at this point that Bickel "admitted he had sold his father's home and stolen all the money". Mr Bickel senior had had just 48p left to his name by the time of his death, the court was told. Ms O'Donovan said the health of Nickel's father had begun to decline in 2015 when he started "putting rubbish into the fridge rather than the bin". She said Bickel "took advantage" of his father's "ill health and forgetfulness" by "helping himself to his money".
Ms O'Donovan said it was not a case where a gambling addiction or drink or drugs problem could account for where the money had gone. Bickel is thought to have served 22 years in the Army as a sapper and bomb disposal expert between 1983 and 2005.
He is believed to have worked in a variety of health and safety posts after leaving the Army, and volunteered to help the SSAFA armed forces charity. The keen golfer admitted theft and fraud between May 2015 and April 2021 at an earlier hearing.
Obsessed mum accused neighbour of running brothel and threatened to kill her
Judge Anthony Bate jailed Bickel for four years, and said he had displayed "egregious, sustained dishonesty". He told Bickel that he had served his country with "distinction" as a soldier, but he added: "You took advantage of your father's ill health and started taking his money".
Gavin Cowe, defending, said Bickel was previously a man of "exemplary" good character with a "long service record" in the forces. He said there were "many positive things" to be said on behalf of Bickel who had "admitted these matters from the outset". Mr Cowe added that Bickel felt "shame and embarrassment" about the "enormity" of the figures taken from his father.