Chelmondiston couple Rebecca and Simon Toloui sentenced

Rebecca and Simon Toloui were sentenced at Ipswich Crown Court on February 23 to two years imprisonment suspended for 24 months having previously been convicted of fraud by abuse of position despite both pleading not guilty.

Recorder Paul Garlick passed the sentence after the couple were found guilty of taking a total of £207,650. 

The amount the couple will have to pay back is yet to be determined.

The couple owned an expensive house, an expensive car, and a foreign property as well as designer goods including handbags and items in their home.

The court previously heard their alleged "lavish" lifestyle also included a number of expensive holidays as well as Rebecca Toloui paying £13,000 for private surgery.

The offence is alleged to have taken place between June 28, 2015, and March 1, 2019.

Their adult son is nonverbal and has the mental age of an 18-month-old child, He also has severe autism.

He needs two-to-one care around the clock and lives in a bungalow beside the couple.

Mr Toloui, 68, is the victim’s father and Mrs Toloui, 62, is his stepmother.

The court heard from prosecutor Simren Singh that during the trial Mr Toloui thought “they could spend the money how they "saw fit” but Singh said the prosecution argued both defendants knew they were not entitled to do that.

Mr Singh said: “Simon effectively treated the money coming in as one big pot and an income to spend” said Signh and added the couple also went to the Ritz on the money.

The court heard their son was put on a lower level of care because the funds were siphoned off.

The prosecutor said that even after an investigation was opened at the end of 2018  Mrs Toloui continued submitting requests for money.

Provision of care has been transferred to the organisation Leading Lives.

The payments for care were made by Suffolk Independent Living, a direct payment support service operated by Suffolk County Council, to Mrs Toloui.

The court heard the organisation trusted the couple and so many payments were processed without question.

Defence barrister Sasha Bailey spoke on behalf of Mrs Toloui in mitigation and claimed somewhere between 20-25% of the £207,000 was used for the benefit of the child's care.

On top of this, she said Mrs Toloui had serious medical conditions which would be exacerbated by the stresses of prison.

Rebecca Lee spoke on behalf of Mr Toloui and said he was “particularly ashamed” to be at court and that he had been caring for his son throughout his life with "great dedication".  

Recorder Garlick said: “This was an abuse of power, trust and responsibility of the highest order.

“Any decent person living in this county will be appalled when they discover what you did.”

Mr Toloui will have to carry out 200 hours unpaid work but Mrs Toloui was not deemed physically capable of doing this.

Cllr Beccy Hopfensperger spoke after the sentencing. (Image: Suffolk County Council)

Speaking after the sentencing Cllr. Beccy Hopfensperger, cabinet member for adult care said: "The fact these people deliberately arranged less care hours for a disabled person and pocketed the remaining balance to fund their own extravagant lifestyle, is one thing. The fact that person was their own son is shocking and appalling to me. 

"This fraud was entirely deliberate and involved careful planning by lying to social care practitioners, finance staff and to the carers they employed to look after their son.  Throughout the investigation they sought to deceive investigators with further lies and this continued during the Crown Court trial. 

"I am pleased the jury saw through this.

"I want to thank the Counter-Fraud Team and Legal Services for their hard work in successfully prosecuting this case.  I hope this outcome serves as a clear warning to others who may be thinking of trying to defraud social care. Suffolk County Council will always vigorously pursue and prosecute people who steal from the taxpayer.”