Man, 60, who stole over £78k from Love Actually actress suffering with dementia ordered to pay back just £550
6 March 2023, 16:42 | Updated: 6 March 2023, 16:59
A man, 60, who stole over £78,000 from a Love Actually actress who was suffering from dementia has been ordered to pay back just £550.
Ms Wright, better known by her stage name Meg Wynn Owen, starred in a number of popular films and TV series including Love Actually, Under Milk Wood and Doctor Who.
But she was left penniless and had to be dressed in clothes left by deceased residents at her care home after her savings were raided by long-time friend Brian Malam, 60.
Malam, who was a costume designer on Doctor Who video games and met Wright through work at the BBC, was entrusted by Ms Wright to transfer cash from her account to the care home.
But instead, the fraudster stole £78,064.13 from the Ms Wright as her condition deteriorated.
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A now a judge at a proceeds of crime hearing has now said the Malam should pay back just £550 - which is less than one percent of what was stolen.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the Malam and Ms Wright became friends while working on BBC shows before Malam was made her power of attorney.
But between 2015 and 2019, Malam stole thousands from Ms Wright as she suffered from dementia.
Prosecutor Abigail Jackson said the alarm was raised by her Ms Wright's bank when they noticed suspicious activity on her account.
"Mrs Wright became terribly upset about it," Ms Jackson said. "The matter was then reported to the police in September 2020.
"That's how the investigation with the police started and the matter came to light.'
Ms Wright's account was left £1,750.12 in the red, which was later written off by the bank.
She had only £229.94 remaining in another account and a less than £1 across a third and fourth.
The court heard Malam claimed he had used the money for his own show business costume firm while also spending it on alcohol.
Malam, of Grangetown, Cardiff, was jailed for two years and eight months in November, 2022, after pleading guilty to fraud while occupying a position of trust.
A Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing at Cardiff Crown Court on Monday heard that the total benefit of Malam's crime, as calculated by prosecutors, was £78,064.13, but he only had assets worth £550.
Judge Niclas Parry ordered for that amount to be paid within three months or Malam faces an additional two months imprisonment.
