A furious Scots brother shouted at his sister “you lied through your f*****g teeth,” after she avoided jail for swindling thousands from her own mum.
Maureen Gunn, 66, plead guilty to embezzlement at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last month after admitting transferring money from her 89-year-old mother’s bank account and making several unauthorised cash withdrawals.
The court heard how Gunn, of Tranent, East Lothian became caught up in an online romance scam – in which she sent money to a man, who claimed to be a captain for the United Nations living in Syria.
Brother David Marr, 68, yesterday told how the whole ordeal has torn the family apart, Edinburgh Live reports.
Speaking outside the court, yesterday, David spoke of his disgust at the fact his sister was not given a custodial sentence and told of the devastating impact of her actions.
He said: “She has torn our family apart and made sure we all wouldn’t speak to each other to find out what was going on.
“I didn’t care how long she got as long as she went to jail. Ideally, for me, it would have been a couple of years or even a few months I would have been happy with.
“I’m ex-navy so when she said the guy told he was a captain in the UN I said that is a load of rubbish – the UN does not have armed forces. She said ‘ah right’ and continued to steal money.
“She did it clandestinely and didn’t tell anyone. Apparently the man online said his money was tied up and he needed funds for lawyers as well as money to pay for his son’s private school. The online picture she had was a photoshopped one of him and we could all tell it wasn’t real.”
Members of Gunn’s family confronted her outside court and questioned why she failed to admit her crimes sooner, to which she responded: “I did.” The pensioner also admitted she “got off lightly.”
“You lied through your f*****g teeth,” David shouted as she made her way down the capital’s Chambers Street.
Gunn was given access to her mother’s debit card and pin number which allowed her to buy everyday items – a responsibility she took on in January 2020 before abusing her power to make payments and withdraw money without her victim’s consent.
A sum of £4,250 was also transferred to her own account. Police attended Gunn’s home on January 31, 2024, before she was arrested on suspicion of theft. Gunn admitted her crime at the beginning of the investigation.
Another family member, who preferred to remain anonymous added: “We were hoping for a custodial sentence, even a suspended sentence but I think she got off with it because of her age.
“We found out the money was going missing in 2020. She came to my work and said she had something to tell me. I thought the worst and thought something had happened to my son or husband.
“She told me she had met someone. I said I’ll just speak to her another time and she said she couldn’t get her phone to work so I had a look and saw messages from this guy and she had been sending money.
“I asked how old this guy was and she said early 60s. He said he was a captain on a UN navy boat and was in Syria at the time. This is how it came out so I got in touch with the family and phoned the police.”
Gunn pleaded guilty to a single charge of embezzlement and ordered to pay back £14,521 to her victim in instalments of £150 which the family added “will never get paid off.”
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