A former Co-op bank chairman who fraudulently took tens of thousands of pounds abusing his power as a will executor has been jailed for three years.
Paul Flowers, 74, plead guilty to 18 counts of fraud by abuse of position in July last year, and was formally handed his sentence at Manchester Crown Court today (27 February 2025).
The court heard how the woman wrote her will with the intention of her money being donated to various charities upon her death.
Flowers, of Salford, had known his victim for a number of decades and had become friends with her, with him being appointed as sole executor of the will in the 2000s.
Instead of safeguarding her money, as he had agreed, he used it to fund his own extravagant lifestyle, taking advantage of the fact that she was too unwell to recognise what was happening.
Flowers used the money for expensive holidays events, significant home improvements, and booze – with a majority of the offences were committed in in 2016 and 2017 – where he wrote a cheque amounting to over £40,000.
In total, around £100,000 was fraudulently taken from her accounts. This includes the withdrawal of around £70,000 in cash, with the rest being used to buy various goods and services.
The former Co-op bank chairman also spent majority of the money that he was trusted with – with little no money left.
The crime was flagged to GMP by bank officials in 2019 and subsequently investigated by our specialist Economic Crime Unit. Prior to this, it had been flagged to the bank by the victim’s pension provider, after discovering that she had died.
They had been paying the victim’s pension for approximately two years after her death.
Linda Meichtry, one of Miss Jarvis’s nieces, said in a victim impact statement: “I’m shocked he’s committed such a crime against a vulnerable and elderly friend.”
Bob Elias, defending, said Flowers had led a life of “significant achievement” but had suffered a “remarkable fall from grace”.
He said Flowers, a grammar school boy after passing his 11 plus, had “found his vocation” after studying theology at Bristol University and became ordained as a Methodist minister in 1978, later rising to the top in the banking industry, becoming boss of the Co-op Bank in 2010, but had struggled with his sexuality.
Mr Elias continued: “As he became a public figure he found it nigh on impossible to ‘come out’. The persona one has as a clergyman or high official in a bank makes it difficult. That stress or tension was there for much of his life.”
He said the pressure led to his increased use of cocaine, until the newspaper sting revealed his drug use. Mr Elias added: “He will bear with him till the day he dies the sobriquet, Crystal Methodist.”
“It is a betrayal of friendship and trust by him,” Mr Elias continued, “To abuse, squander money on class A drugs to some extent and holidays and staircases. He’s thrown it all away, breathtaking in one sense, tragic in another, despite his character flaws, he got as high as he did.”
A proceeds of crime hearing will be held later in the year to try to recoup some of the money Flowers stole.
Following the sentencing today that saw Flowers jailed for three years, Detective Constable Kate Riley, a fraud investigations officer at GMP, said.
“Flowers completely abused his position as a will executor and as a friend, fraudulently taking tens of thousands of pounds that he simply was not entitled to.
“The money should have been going to good causes but instead went to satisfying Flowers indulgent lifestyle of holidays, cruises, and expensive food and wine.”
She continued: “He and his victim had worked together on charitable projects, so he was fully aware of the importance of charitable gifts in her will.
“This self-serving behaviour has now rightly been punished, and Flowers has time behind bars to think about his deceitful actions.”
Paul Flowers will now be jailed for three years for fraud by abuse of position – more information can be found here.
Recent Comments