Hundreds of thousands of pounds passed from the accounts of Des and Kath Moyle and into the accounts of Percival John Harris and his family over a period of four years.

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 Kath and Desmond Moyle from Falmouth.

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

Harris, 59, whose address was given in court as Turnaware Road, Falmouth, befriended the couple in 2014 and was given power of attorney over Kath's account in 2015.

Over a few years he took hundreds of thousands of pounds from their accounts and when they died forged their wills so he got nearly everything.

Below we highlight some of the main transfers of money highlighted by a financial forensic scientist hired by the police.

The forensic investigator traced all the transactions between the accounts and what the money was spent on, including high end cars, no less than five motorbikes and towards buying a house mortgage-free in Mabe.

Over a five-year period Harris and members of his family received £335,481 from the Moyles’ accounts, as well as more than £85,000 from a forged will.

The investigator told the court that the furthest she was able to go back looking at Kath Moyle’s accounts was April 5, 2013 when the balance was just over £2,500.

She said there was a pattern of small transactions and payments but in November 2013 there had been a significant deposit of £31,000, which took the balance right up to £34,000 where it would remain with regular payments going in and out.

On February 16, 2015, after Harris was granted Power of Attorney over Kath's estate, almost immediately £6,000 was withdrawn from her account, with a cheque cashed in at her Falmouth bank branch.

The investigator said there followed another regular series of transactions until January 29, 2016, when there was a cheque withdrawal of £20,000, which was traced as going into Mr Harris’s bank account and then on again into his wife’s account.

The investigator said she traced where the money was spent and found £3,500 went to a vehicle finance company, £2,850 to College Motors, £290 on vehicle tax and other money went to pay off credit cards in Mr Harris’s name, while £6,000 and £7,169 were spent on two cars.

The investigator said on July 8, 2016 a payment of £62,500 was deposited in Mrs Moyle’s bank account as part of an inheritance from an aunt. Mr Moyle received the same amount, with £62,500 going into their joint account.

However on July 20, 2016, a transfer of £50,000 was made from the Moyles’ joint account to Harris’s account, and then on July 25, a further £62,500 went from Mrs Moyle’s account to Harris. The investigator said the cheque to withdraw the £62,500 was signed by John Harris who had power of attorney.

Further sums of £20,000 and £16,000 were put into Harris’s account, with £44,000 transferred by Harris into his wife’s account.

On September 20 Harris used £7,000 of the money to pay a motor company.

Mr Moyle died in Falmouth Hospital in September 2016. 

At the end of September more than £30,000 was transferred from the Moyles’ accounts to the Harris’s accounts, as well as a £2,000 cash withdrawal - with £20,000 of this put into his wife’s account.

In October 2016 the proceeds from the sale of the Moyle's house sale in Clifton Terrace, sold by Harris, amounting to £179,000, first went into Kathleen’s account and then £160,000 of that was transferred to the Harris’s accounts. Three lots of £500 were also taken.

In 2018, John Harris additionally benefited from the forged wills to the tune of £85,500, following the death of Kath Moyle in February 14 - with £40,000 then going into Harris’s wife’s account and £39,000 transferred to the account of his son.

An amount of £39,000 went towards buying a house in Mabe by the Harris family, costing £250,000, with their own legitimate money also used to make the purchase.

The couple, who the court was told had a combined income of £3,000 a month, bought a £15,000 Audi A6 with personalised number plates for him and a £7,000 Toyota Iago for her.

Harris also bought a Triumph Speed motorbike for £2,200, a Yamaha motorbike for £5,000, a Suzuki motorbike for £4,300 and a Kawasaki motorbike for £5,000.

In total Harris took £34,100 in cash from the Moyles’ accounts and £235,650 in transfers, plus £85,500 from Hine Downing as part of the will settlement that he had forged.