Man jailed after deceiving and bullying his grandparents into handing over £340,000 of their life savings

A man who deceived and bullied his elderly grandparents into giving him their life savings has been jailed.

Daniel Tilden, 31, forced his grandparents, who were too afraid of him to refuse his demands, into giving him £384,000 over a ten-year period.

Tilden on Wednesday, April 24, was handed a sentence of three years and nine months in prison at Swindon Crown Court, UK. He was also fined by the court and must not contact his grandparents for 10 years.

Tilden began visiting his grandparents’ home frequently in 2013, lying so as to persuade them to part with their money, claiming it was for a new car or prescriptions, and once even alleging it was for private cancer treatment.

At one time he accompanied his vulnerable grandfather, aged 81, to a bank to withdraw thousands of pounds at a time.

But when the bank put a stop to this, he started pressuring his grandfather to get cash back at local supermarkets, before then arranging meetings at cashpoints for withdrawals.

Tilden was finally arrested in November last year and released on bail while investigations continued, repeatedly violating conditions that prohibited him from visiting his grandparents.

He was subsequently re-arrested and charged with controlling or coercive behaviour in an intimate or family relationship under section 76 of the Serious Crime Act after manipulating his grandparents into handing over a total of £384,077.

In a victim impact statement, the grandfather expressed his fear of refusing Tilden, likening his home life to being ‘under siege’ due to the incessant visits.