A grandmother who fell into the trap of an online scammer has admitted stealing £46,700 from her estranged husband as he was sleeping to send to the man she thought was her boyfriend.
Patricia Passman, known as Tricia, stole from her husband by systematically taking his bank cards in the middle of the night as he was asleep.
She then sent Amazon vouchers and funds to an online love interest living in America - thinking the man she was in communication with would begin a relationship with her and not realising she was being scammed.
On Wednesday, Teesside Crown Court heard that in 2019 "naive" Passman still lived with her husband Tim, but that the couple had split up after 40 years of marriage.
The couple - who have three children and grandchildren - worked together after breaking up as Patricia Passman was employed as the company secretary for her husband's business, Passman Pipe Inspection Services.
Prosecutor Jenny Haigh told the court that Passman admitted stealing £22,650 from her husband's personal bank account and £24,050 from his business account.
She was initially charged with stealing even more - £35,669 and £33,851 respectively, but the court accepted her guilty plea to the lesser amounts when she produced paperwork showing the transactions she had made.
Ms Haigh said that Passman stole the money from her husband, who is 66, over a two year period from January 2019 to January 2021.
She said that Tim Passman has been left in, "financial ruin, with tax bills and accountancy fees to pay" when he thought he had at least £70,000 in his personal account.
Ms Haigh said that Tim Passman's family have stayed with him in his home, after they had concerns about the affect this has had on him.
When he tried to return to work, he was sent home early from a meeting in Germany. Patricia Passman, now of Coatham Road in Redcar, pleaded guilty to two counts of theft at an earlier hearing.
The court heard that she has five previous convictions for 12 offences, dating back some years. In 1993, she was convicted of a drugs offence and in 1996 and 1997, she was in court for shoplifting.
Thomas Bennett, defending, said that Passman had admitted she intercepted her husband's bank statements but said that she always ensured there was enough left in the accounts for direct debits.
Mr Bennett said that she is embarrassed and ashamed of what she has done, and that his client is "naive and certainly not streetwise."
"She herself was exploited herself, having fallen victim to an online scam" he added.
Judge Jamie Hill replied: "She thought she'd met a boyfriend online and he was going to have a relationship with her."
Mr Bennett said that the former couple's children are all adults now and so haven't suffered from her thefts and that his client would pay her former husband back, if she had the funds to do so.
But Passman has no assets, works part time and claims Universal Credit.
Her barrister added: "She is the victim of a crime herself, here. She is now rebuilding her relationships with her children and she has caring responsibilities for her grandchildren."
Judge Hill told Passman: " Over two years you stole £46,700 from two accounts - one in your husband's name and one was his business account. It seems you thought you were engaged in a relationship with somebody in America.
"In fact you were involved in a scam. It seems you were living in some sort of bubble. You took your husband's financial welfare from him. This has clearly had a devastating impact on your husband - who is 66. He has gone from financial security to dealing with debt.
"I accept you may have been naive and that you have shown remorse."
The judge handed Passman an 18-month prison term, suspended for two years.
She was ordered to complete 200 hours of unpaid work.
