Elderly B.C. fraudster sentenced to 8 years

A B.C. woman has been sentenced to eight years in prison for defrauding the sick and elderly and embezzling nearly $800,000 from a seniors care home.

Judith Lynn Slobbe, 62, of Qualicum Beach and Burnaby was sentenced Thursday morning in Provincial Court in Richmond for 14 offences, including fraud over $5,000, theft, possession of stolen property, perjury and forgery.

The judge gave her five months' credit for time served. The sentence is two years longer than what the Crown had requested.

At the start of the sentencing, Slobbe blamed her daughter's death in 2007 for leading her to commit the crimes. The incidents took place between 2001 and 2009 in Richmond, where Slobbe defrauded a seniors home, and Port Alberni, where she targetted elderly individuals.

But Judge Ron Fratkin responded by calling her a conniving and pathological liar who preyed on the elderly and the sick to support her own lavish lifestyle.

Police said Slobbe used her friendly demeanour to swindle many of her victims by simply borrowing hundreds of thousands of dollars and never replaying the loans.