A woman who stole £10,000 from her mother-in-law to fund her gambling addiction has been blasted by the pensioner’s daughters.
Sharon Rimmer, 57, was convicted at Hull Magistrates Court on November 9 after admitting she stole thousands of pounds from her husband’s 75-year-old mother, Catherine Rimmer.
Mrs Rimmer, who also lives in west Hull, had money taken out of her account for three years before the truth was uncovered in January, 2017.
Sharon Rimmer, 57, was convicted at Hull Magistrates Court on November 9 after admitting she stole thousands of pounds from her husband’s 75-year-old mother, Catherine Rimmer
Her two daughters were left disgusted after finding out their sister-in-law had been taking advantage of their mother.
Mrs Rimmer’s youngest daughter, who is also called Catherine, said: ‘I am very upset about the lying and what she has done to my mum.
‘My brother didn’t want us to press charges but it’s the principle – we wanted her named and shamed and we want her disgracing for what she did.
‘It’s split us up as a family and my brother has not seen his granddaughter since this happened. We avoid each other now as much as we can.
Rimmer’s two daughters were left disgusted after finding out their sister-in-law had been taking advantage of their mother
‘My mum feels like she has been taken advantage of and she can’t believe that her daughter-in-law, who she has known for 18 years, has done that to her.’
The 46-year-old believes her mother’s health has worsened due to the trauma of the deception, which started in 2014.
She said: ‘My mum’s been on her own for nearly three years and since my dad passed away she has got worse.
‘She has fooled us all.’
According to Miss Rimmer, her sister-in-law would take the great-grandma-of-two to the bank. However, she ended up depositing the OAP’s money into her own account so that she could ‘play on a bingo app.’
Sharon Rimmer, of Alliance Street, west Hull, admitted the theft and came clean as a gambling addict, but Mrs Rimmer’s daughters can’t forgive her for her three-year scam.
The family didn’t know that Rimmer was being sentenced on Thursday and Mrs Rimmer’s other daughter Debbie, 51, is annoyed the family didn’t get to see her convicted.
She said: ‘We all wanted to go as there is still a lot of anger there.
‘I’ve only seen her in passing since it happened and we’ve got no communication now with our brother.
‘My mum doesn’t like conflict or for us to argue because we are not that sort of family but it has caused a rift with my brother.
‘Nothing like this has ever happened to us before. If you can’t trust your family who can you trust?’
Rimmer was given an eight-month jail sentence suspended for two years.
She must pay £11,170 in compensation and comply with a rehabilitation activity requirement for a maximum of ten days.
According to Miss Rimmer, her sister-in-law would take the great-grandma-of-two to the bank. However, she ended up depositing the OAP’s money into her own account so that she could ‘play on a bingo app’