A HARLOW woman who stole over £80,000 from her vulnerable victim has been sentenced to more than two years in prison.

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Officers pieced together a pattern of spending and fraud all connecting to 44-year-old Jenny Taggart’s bank account, undoing three years of lies to her 18-year-old victim whose inheritance she was stealing.

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Taggart, of Longfield in Harlow started targeting him in September 2020 during the Covid pandemic.

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After six months the victim realized he was being stolen from, but not how or by whom, having already seen over £15,000 sent from his account to someone appearing to be in Luxembourg.

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In reality, Taggart was directing large sums to her Paypal account and other types of payments, hiding the activity.

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Despite opening another account and moving his remaining funds there in 2021, Taggart continued to take his money – this time asking the victim for money to support her family and promising to pay him back from an inheritance she claimed she would receive.

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The stories were fabricated, there was no pending inheritance, and she took a further £71,716 from him.

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When the victim told family about his money concerns in 2023, they raised the alarm with police and Action Fraud, and our financial investigators took the case.

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They showed multiple transaction victim had no knowledge of in local shops he didn’t visit. In one business Taggart had even used his card to purchase a phone in her own name.

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She was charged on 24 November 2024, and pleaded guilty to both theft and fraud on 14 January 2025 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

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She was sentenced at the same court to 27 months imprisonment. The judge in her case established she had taken at least £86,811 from the victim, and a timetable for the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) was set out to establish what fund could be reclaimed. This is due to conclude on 11 December 2025 at Chelmsford Crown Court.

The importance of POCA

Detective Constable Karen Venables said: “Our work doesn’t stop at sentencing – it’s vital we continue through the Proceeds of Crime Act hearings to establish what funds can be recovered from Taggart.

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“That means our work is ongoing, with financial investigators interrogating the details of bank statements to establish exactly what was fraudulently spent and illegally taken.

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“That outcome is as important as the criminal case because it’s only right we minimise whatever impact we can for the victim.”

‘All a fantasy’

Detective Sergeant Rachel Barrett added: “Taggart’s crimes were brazen, exploitative and cruel.

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“She targeted a vulnerable man and took his money, hiding it as an international fraud being run from mainland Europe.

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“She manipulated him with stories of her mother being abused in a care home and in dire need of moving. She said son was being targeted by loan sharks who were demanding payment. She would pay him back with the sale of a property in Florida.

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“It was all a fantasy so she could live beyond her means at his expense.

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“This sentence is a just reward for those actions, and we will recover all the funds we can through the forthcoming POCA hearings.”

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