Peter Littler, 61, was appointed executor of his father-in-law Joseph Webster’s will, which required him to distribute the late man’s £166,000 inheritance to his children and grandchildren (Picture: Lancs Live/MEN Media)
A fraudster who spent a grieving family’s inheritance on horse semen has been jailed.
Peter Littler, 61, was appointed executor of his father-in-law Joseph Webster’s will, which required him to distribute the late man’s £166,000 inheritance to his children and grandchildren.
When his house was sold, Littler transferred the cash straight into his own bank account, ignoring repeated requests from the family to hand it over.
At one point, the former security operations manager told one of the beneficiaries that he ‘can do what I want as executor of the will’.
He splashed out £3,000 on a 60th birthday party, £2,000 on semen from an Olympic racehorse and sent money to a family member who was caring for her child who had cancer.
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He used the money from the sale of a house to pay his own overdraft and failed to transfer the funds to the rightful beneficiaries.
Preston Crown Court heard how Littler’s wife Karen had been estranged from her father Joseph for a number of years.
Littler has been jailed for 40 weeks (Picture: Lancs Live/MEN Media)
In the months before he died the pair had reconciled and Mrs Littler took comfort in providing end-of-life care for her father.
But two weeks before Mr Webster’s death in September 2022, he changed his will, appointing Littler to act as executor.
The role had previously been assigned to Gary Hilton – Mr Webster’s other son-in-law, the court heard.
When Mr Webster’s house was sold, in May 2023, the proceeds were to be transferred to a solicitor who was dealing with the estate.
But the court heard Littler transferred the funds to his own account and ignored requests.
Mrs Littler told the court her husband – who she has since separated from – said she should fight for a share of a property in Spain which had been left to her sister.
Littler, formerly of Tarporley Road, Stretton, Cheshire, was arrested, interviewed, and later summonsed to court for fraud by abuse of position.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced last week at Preston Crown Court to 40 months in prison.
Judge Michael Maher, sentencing, said at the time of the fraud Littler’s financial position was ‘weak’ In April 2023 he had applied for a personal loan and when the proceeds of the house sale were paid to his account he had a significant overdraft.
After hearing the case, Judge Maher ruled there was ‘no substance’ to the claims – which were an attempt to ‘publicly vilify’ his ex wife.
‘You ensured she did not see any of the correspondence from the solicitors’, he said. ‘You kept that from them all.’
In a victim impact statement, Karen Littler said the crime has caused physical, emotional and financial devastation. The family had to begin civil proceedings to claw back the money that was stolen from them.
‘His suggestion I only reconciled with my father for financial gain is a very cruel and calculated lie’, she said.
‘I returned to receive my father’s apology and I accepted it and nursed him to his death.
‘He [the defendant] has zero remorse for the irreversible damage he has caused my whole family. My father would be heartbroken. He wanted us to become friends again – it was his dying wish.’
Sentencing, Judge Maher said: ‘This was a manifest abuse of the trust placed in you. Because of your own financial difficulties and your prolific spending you shamelessly cheated six beneficiaries out of a substantial inheritance from a much loved father and grandfather.
‘Your corrupt and selfish actions deprived them of the ability to make financial choices in their own lives, such as reducing mortgage payments, renovating, moving house or taking holidays, simply to make their lives easier.
‘You knew one had Multiple Sclerosis. You knew her child had leukaemia. To keep that money from them is, in my judgement, mean and shabby.
‘You then decided that if you were going to be incarcerated you were going to denigrate your wife and take her with you. She has been vilified by you and labelled as corrupt. There was no substance to that.
‘I have no doubt all six beneficiaries feel devastated by your act of utter betrayal.’
DS John Whittle, of Skelmersdale CID, said: ‘Peter Littler’s dishonesty and manipulation caused his victims further anguish during what was already a difficult time.
‘He chose to withhold the funds for his own selfish reasons, even telling one of the victims that he could do what he wanted as executor. He flaunted his position as executor and used that to cause more distress to the victims.
‘I would like to praise former Detective Constable Graham Leyland whose meticulous investigation left Mr Littler with no option but to plead guilty at an earlier hearing, ensuring justice for the victim.”
‘I have no doubt all six beneficiaries feel devastated by your act of utter betrayal.’
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