EXCLUSIVE Baby-faced fraudster Hayley drove to court in a flash Mercedes. Her elderly victim arrived on a walking frame. But Hayley left in a prison van - after her bid to walk free backfired Hayley Philpot, 29, was jailed on Tuesday after abandoning appeal She had ripped-off more than $100,000 from an elderly couple READ MORE: Real estate agent swindled pensioner couple out of $90,000 By Wayne Flower, Melbourne Correspondent Published: 07:25, 24 September 2024 | Updated: 07:25, 24 September 2024 e-mail 1 View comments A greedy conwoman who drove to court in a Mercedes bought off the back of her elderly victims' life of hard work has swapped it for a seat in a prison van to jail.
Hayley Philpot, 29, blew Berwyn and Keith Bennett's life savings on the flash car, and the kind of posh dinners and fancy clothes which the hard-working couple had denied themselves all their lives to put the money aside for their old age. Ms Bennett, now in her 80s and who uses a walking frame to get about, had served the community as a nurse while her husband was an electrical engineer. But they were robbed of more than $100,000 by mother-of-two Philpot who brazenly took advantage of them to feather her own nest with luxury items.
On Tuesday, the disgraced real estate agent drove to the County Court of Victoria in her ill-gotten car believing she would be driving home in it later that morning. Instead she was hauled off to jail in tears, without even a toothbrush - and handed her car keys to barrister Sai Ranjit before she was placed in handcuffs. Ms Bennett was in court to see Philpot finally jailed.
She and her dementia-affected husband have been left destitute by the baby-faced fraudster and are still battling to recover more than $70,000 from her. Hayley Philpot was described as a remorseless, greedy and manipulative con-artist Berwyn Bennett came to court on Tuesday to watch Hayley Philpot jailed Philpot had come to court aiming to have the matter adjourned, telling the court she was still attempting to secure a loan to repay her victims. But County Court Judge Pradeep Tiwana was not prepared to listen to any more of the shyster's repeated lies.
Philpot had been sentenced in Melbourne Magistrates' Court in July to serve three months' jail after pleading guilty to theft. She immediately appealed the decision, bringing it before Judge Tiwana who could also increase her sentence to a maximum of five years. And the judge made it clear he felt Philpot's sentence in the lower court had been 'lenient'.
A letter penned by Philpot to her victims after launching her appeal reinforced the judge's intentions to address her sentencing, with a view to potentially extending her jail time. In the letter, Philpot attempted to dupe the couple yet again with claims she wanted them to be part of her new family. It came with the demand that the couple ask authorities for the charges to be dropped despite her already pleading guilty to them.
'It's outrageous that such a letter has been written,' Judge Tiwana said. 'You want to give some thought to where this appeal is heading,' he warned Philpot's barrister, who quickly walked to the rear of the court to address his client in the prison dock. The appeal was abandoned and Philpot was immediately whisked away to Dame Phyllis Frost Centre where she will rub shoulders with underworld figures like gangland matriarch Judy Moran and 'Black Widow' serial killer Robyn Lindholm.
The court heard Philpot worked as an agent at Savoy Real Estate Yarra Glen, north-east of Melbourne, when she targeted her victim in 2019. Philpot, from Flemington, helped sell the couple's home before assisting them to relocate to a nursing home. But she was given power of attorney for Ms Bennett and used it to siphon the couple's cash into her own accounts.
Philpot made 66 transactions between June 2020 and August 2021, spending $17,000 on the Mercedes. She also splurged thousands at various hair and beauty salons and boutiques, high-end Zara fashion stores, JB Hi-Fi, Kmart, Bunnings, Kookai and and Nando’s meals. Hayley Philpot thought her two young kids would keep her out of jail but she was wrong Philpot and Ms Bennett in happier times.
The elderly retired nurse thought she had found a friend in Philpot. When Ms Bennett discovered the thefts, Philpot repeatedly claimed she had been authorised to do so. In a record of interview given to police and obtained by A Current Affair , Philpot was seen telling lie after lie.
'I didn't take anything that she didn't say yes to,' she told police. 'With permission, I didn't think it was bad, because we'd organised for me to set up to make payments back. 'It wasn't like I went behind her back and said "I'm going to rob this old lady".
' Crown Prosecutor Peter Pickering told the court the mother-of-two was motivated by greed and should be jailed for much longer than she was given at the magistrates' court. Mr Pickering said Philpot told her victims that she stole $40,000 to save them from a non-existent Centrelink investigation which she claimed would cause their pensions to be cancelled. The prosecutor said the combination of Philpot's letter and the 'appalling breach of trust', she deserved more time behind bars.
Judge Tiwana agreed. 'This was particularly cruel offending against a very vulnerable person,' he said. 'She knew this victim in her 80s was struggling with a sick husband who is in the early stages of dementia.
'They trusted her. It's an appalling breach of trust, lacking in any semblance of conscience. 'Each time she took money she had an opportunity to stop and reflect as to what she is doing, but she continued.
'It was a lenient sentence I should say and she's very fortunate to get three months.' Outside court, Ms Bennett said she while she was glad the criminal proceedings were over, she faced an uphill battle to recover the outstanding money owed. 'She was cunning.
She was very smart and I'm not smart like that,' she said. Hayley Philpot attempted to con her way out of trouble up until the bitter end Berwyn and Keith Bennett were duped by a cunning conwoman with a baby face Ms Bennett said the ordeal had seen her spend time in hospital with a suspected heart attack. 'To be honest I'm not a person who likes locking people up, but I'm glad she's got her punishment now,' she said.
'She's got to serve something. She's can't keep going on and on and on.' Ms Bennet said she would have liked to see Philpot being forced to serve more time in jail.
She added: 'I think she should have got four or five (months) ...
after what she did to me and my husband.' Crime Share or comment on this article: Baby-faced fraudster Hayley drove to court in a flash Mercedes. Her elderly victim arrived on a walking frame.
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