Percival John Harris was found guilty at Truro Crown Court

Percival John Harris was found guilty by a jury at Truro Crown Court this morning of two counts of fraud, one of perverting the course of justice, and one each of forging the wills of both Kathleen and Desmond Moyle.

He was found not guilty of two charges of conspiracy to make a false instrument.

Co-defendant Michael Sean Patrick-Davies was found not guilty of all the charges levelled against him - two allegations of making a false instrument and one of perverting the course of justice - and was released.

Harris, 59, whose address was given in court as Turnaware Road, Falmouth, befriended Mr Moyle in 2014 when the pensioner used to catch Harris's bus to visit his wife Kath at Trevern Care Home, where she had lived since being diagnosed with dementia in 2003.

In time the Moyles came to consider Harris as like a son to them as he started doing everything for them, taking Des to see Kath in his own time and taking him places to do chores and errands, taking them out on day trips and buying them fish and chips at the Penmere fish and chip shop - even organising their funerals.

Harris befriended Kath and Desmond Moyle before taking all their money (Image: Newsquest)

However his friendship hid an ulterior motive and when, in 2015, he was granted power of attorney over Kath, he took over the management of her financial affairs and money started to be taken out of her accounts.

It started off small but soon became a torrent as Harris started cashing cheques and making cash withdrawals from Kath’s accounts. When the couple received a cheque each for £62,500 as part of an inheritance from an aunt, Harris took the lot.

He even sold the Moyles’ house in 2016 without the family’s knowledge, after Kath died, and pocketed the money.

Desmond Moyle was renowned for his handmade scale models of busses and local buildings (Image: Newsquest)

In total Harris took £34,100 in cash from the Moyles' accounts and £235,650 in transfers from the Moyles accounts to his accounts.

He spent it on cars, five motorbikes and towards buying a house in Mabe for him and his family mortgage free.

The couple even rewrote their wills to include Harris, with Desmond giving Harris 45% of his estate if Kath died before him and Kath giving him 25% if Des died before her, which he did in September 2016.

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However not content with this, when Des died Harris forged both their wills to give him practically everything and got two drug and drink addled Big Issue sellers, Michael Sean Patrick-Davies and Eric Cullen, who has since died, to sign them, despite them not knowing what they were actually signing.

Harris claimed that the first occasion the Moyles had dictated the wills to him was at Helston Hospital where Des had been admitted before he died, which he had written out on legal pro-forma bought at WH Smith.

Harris spent money on cars and motorbikes (Image: Newsquest)

After Des died at Falmouth Hospital Harris claimed he couldn’t find the wills and claimed Kath told him to write them out again, and she would get them signed despite Des being already dead.

Harris knew if it was signed it would be fraud so he claimed he refused to do so, but the wills were signed and again witnessed by the Big Issue sellers and eventually he received £89,500 from the will when Kath died on February 14, 2018.

Following concerns from the family about the will the police were contacted and started an investigation.

Harris will be sentenced at a later date following a pre-sentence report.