Mar.25, 2010, 12:40 pm

AN ESTATE AGENT who helped a gang swindle more than £270,000 from a terminally-ill Sully pensioner has been sentenced to two years behind bars, in what police chiefs have called one of the most serious cases of fraud in south Wales.

Anne Cornock, 75, was targeted by members of an organised crime gang after work was carried out on her driveway in 2008.

Over several months Mrs Cornock was contacted by the gang who, after initially claiming she had overpaid them, then demanded more money for the work - prompting the frail pensioner to empty her bank account.

On Thursday (March 18) at Cardiff Crown Court, Cardiff estate agent Sean White, 25, was jailed for two years for his part in what a judge called a ‘wicked enterprise’.

White, who admitted two charges of money laundering, was charged with receiving £115,000 from the victim - one payment of £60,000 and one of £55,000 - into his account, and then withdrawing the money and giving it to unnamed individuals.

Mrs Cornock, who has since died, handed over cash, cheques and money transfers in the course of a year.

South Wales Police Acting Detective Superintendent, Steve Benson-Davison, said: “This is one of the most serious cases of fraud we have seen in south Wales and it had a devastating affect on the elderly victim, who has sadly since passed away.

“This case saw a group of individuals target an elderly and vulnerable woman and steal a total of £272,310.

“In this particular case, the crime gang offered to arrange a refund for the elderly victim, then proceeded to con her out of a vast sum of money.

“Our thoughts remain with her family."