Marilyn's Story
(Please read Jessica's story first)
Mother had been suffering from (age related) mild confusion and memory loss; but because her way of dealing with it was to double check everything was switched off and locked up, she didn't appear to be in any danger living alone. She was fiercely independent, sociable and managing fine.
Straight after my Mother's death I knew I had to bring what had happened to my family to the attention of the media.
The scammers had not just controlled my Mother Jessica's life for the past five years; they had also been responsible for the break of the strong bond that my Mother and I had always shared.
This is my story.....
After we (the family) finally managed to stop my Mother from buying huge amounts of goods she neither needed nor could afford from Readers Digest we thought our problems were over. Mother had always been independent and self-sufficient, she would regularly catch the bus into town and always took great pride in her appearance.
"Young at heart" was the phrase mum always used to describe herself. Things all changed though when Mother replied to that very first scam letter. Her personality started to change in a way that became very difficult for the family to deal with. It was as if she had been brainwashed or was in some kind of a cult, she was totally convinced that the paper chase the criminals were laying would eventually lead to a pot of gold.
For Mother the money that she was sending continually was an investment that would make her secure in her final years.
She often mentioned to me that she didn't want to go into a residential home, she was worried that her ongoing medical condition might lead to her having to depend on others if she lost the ability to stay mobile. In her mind her forth coming "award" took away all of those fears.
She wasn't overly concerned about not having much money, the thing that caused her the most stress was when those who cared tried to seperate her from the criminal mail. There was never any "IF" about her winnings arriving and she had even bought a dress to wear for the winners "party" (the scammer's told her it was being held in Australia)
Christmas's did cause her more anxiety though, she would be upset and embarrassed at not being able to give gifts to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. She would invent excuses for not receiving the promised cheque in time. Saying things like "the Christmas post causes a lot of mail to get delayed or lost". Once the festive season was over; she would get back to her main occupation in life reading, sorting, replying and sending her cash off on time.
My Mother lived in her own delusional world created by her post and in it she was made to feel special, important & wealthy, her so called "friends" had abducted her mind and she had been programmed by the "clairvoyants" into ignoring all doubters and believing they were the only ones who cared about her happiness.
Even those who used threats to obtain money were her friends because they told her they were desperate to help her and wanted to remove the bad energy or curse (for a fee)
She was at the mercy of criminals who were working in organised gangs and I was powerless to help and because she would easily pass any mini mental health test and seemed more than capable of taking care of her home and herself, medical intervention was never an option.
I found drafts of some of the many letters Mother had written to those she perceived as her friends. They are heart breaking. She confided in them about everything from wanting to pay private to get her missing teeth sorted out, to which charities she intended to help. She trusted and befriended those who were manipulating, teasing and taking from her in whatever disgusting way that they could. How can any human being be so cruel?
It would be impossible for me to list all the many different ways we tried to persuade, bribe, cajole and sometimes even force my mother to stop responding to the scams.
Many arguments erupted amongst our family as my mother stood firm in her decision to control her own finances. I have to admit there were times when I would reduce her to tears because I could not contain my frustration.
There were other times I would drive her to the Building Society and wait outside while she drew out all her pension and sent it off to the scams. On those occasions I wanted to spend quality time with my mum and going along with her was the only way we could spend a day without arguments.
Sometimes she would ask me to drive her around to look at houses that were for sale saying that she wanted to "set up" the grandchildren before she died, sometimes it was a pleasant change to take her and I often found myself going along with her.
Her electric was on a "pay as you go" meter because she had not kept up with her bills and although I always made sure it was "topped up" and would take her shopping and pay for her food, I often felt bitter and I would be " nasty" to her because I felt as if I was subsidising the criminals.
She missed a family wedding and other invitations so she could be in when the courier arrived
Even if I didn't help her, she was brainwashed and controlled by the criminals to such an extent that she would willingly live on tea on toast.
Mother and I had always had a very close relationship and she would often come and stay at my home but as she got more and more involved with the scammers, she often refused to spend nights away. Even after just one night she was impatient to get home, always worried that she miss a "delivery" from an Australian lottery or some other bogus company.
She told me that if I discussed her business with anybody else she would disown me, but still I tried to seek help. I contacted the police, social services and every charity with Help, Concern and Support in the title, even mums local MP but the advice that I got was to tell her" if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is" & not to respond and put it in the bin.
Mother's postman said if you think your mum gets a lot of scam mail, you should see what some of them (pensioners) are getting. At that point mums postman was delivering around thirty scams a day from all over the world. The postman also said he wished that he could help, but he was just doing his job.
I contacted the Royal Mail and they told me they had a legal obligation to deliver all mail as addressed and they could not police the mail. They also suggested I had my mothers name removed from mailing lists. Which may have some effect on junk mail but none whatsoever on scam mail.
I explained that my mum was in her 80s and she would not co- operate but the man at the Royal Mail fraud office said " if she hasn't entered a competition she should realise that it must be a scam!
Mother was panicky and complaied of having "Funny Turns" She refused to visit the doctor saying it was a"spiritual" not a medical problem. (The clairvoyant scammers had put these thoughts into her head)
At the end of July 2007 my Mother was taken in to hospital. She came out after about two weeks but a few days later she started to be violently sick and then she collapsed. She was admitted to hospital again, we were told she had a heart attack but I am not sure if that was confirmed.
It was then I removed around 30,000 scam mail letters from her home. I still have these in storage. I also found letters threatening disconnection from the gas and water board and a letter from a bailiff, threatening to remove the contents of her house.
The vile clairvoyant's letter, that she couldn't afford to respond to was on the kitchen table along with a letter of apology, hand written by my Mum asking for more time to get her finances sorted.
We couldn't believe how much money she had spent on goods from catalogues that promised a cash prize ie; Rubbish Jewelry and Miracle Cures. She had also taken out £thousands in loans to pay criminals behind a poetry scam the " International Society of Poets"
By going through her personal correspondence we estimated she had parted with around £50,000, but who knows? it would be more accurate to say she gave them everything including her mental and physical health and the last five years of her life.
In desperation, I forged my own authentic looking document and gave it to my mum in hospital. I wrote, all the competitions have now closed. You won't be getting any more mail and you will receive your winnings in the New Year. This wasn't a false promise as my husband had arranged to sell a thin strip of land that belonged to my Mother's terraced house. We were going to surprise her with the £15,000.
I then took my Mother's Building Society book and one of her utility bills to the post office, forged her signature and redirected the mail. I phoned the Royal Mail fraud dept and told them what I had done but they didn't want to know. When I asked how much revenue they collected from delivering illegal mail, they hung up. I have recorded this call.
I moved in with Mum for three weeks when she came out of hospital and the bond that we once had, finally returned. Even though I had to get her a wheelchair we went out most days and looked at all the things she could buy when her "winnings" arrived. Mum was delighted when I helped her to plan the big party we were going to have when her payout arrived. We planned to have pink balloons and pink champagne.
She never suspected that the absence of her mail had anything to do with me. My lovely trusting Mum really believed that at last she had proved us all wrong. With the scam mail finally gone I thought she was going to get better.
The middle of October I went on a holiday that had been planned since the previous year. My Aunts took over and I also arranged with Social Services for someone to call in so I knew Mother was in safe hands.
While I was away I was counting the days when I could get back to her. The day before I was due back I got a call from my aunt; Mum had been rushed back into hospital.
The following day I had three precious hours holding her hand, as I sat beside her hospital bed. Mum had held my hand 23 years earlier, when I had given birth to my daughter. Jessica passed away, on October 24 2007 aged 83.
One of the last things she said was "Marilyn has the post been?"
We had the pink party for all the family and the children, just like we had planned, but it was my mother's funeral. The songs that I chose were, I Believe, Everything is Beautiful and Down Town.
Thank you to all the people who work in Derby for their kind words and condolences. I knew mum loved visiting The Eagle Centre. The thought that so many people knew and miss her has meant such a lot.
One lady who works on the Eagle Centre market told me, "your mother used to show me some of her "AWARD" letters, we wondered why her family had allowed her get scammed"
Well now you all know.
If we do nothing to protect those who are being exploited for whatever reason whether it be vulnerability, trust, confusion or ignorance how can we ever stop this horrendous criminal activity?
I know there is nothing I can do to bring my wonderful Mum back, I just hope my story will help others who find themselves in a similar position.
