I'm looking into getting another solicitor but no solicitor wants to help until I get a summons. But I will try and find CAB locally and see what they say. Someone from Scope contacted me and said they are worried about my situation and want to help. They've advised that it might be best to remove threads discussing this if court action is pending. So please tell if that might be best and if so who do I speak to so I can remove this thread. If anyone wants to discuss the problem with me then they can message me if the thread is removed. I've decided to start paying the money back a little each week whatever I can afford. I don't feel I have a gambling company because I don't gamble. I haven't placed a bet for over 2 years and that was through my 'carer'. So I am not gambling. I would report it to the police but I am scared for my family. I've finally got away from him and he doesn't know where I live now or else he would come here.

The false documents were sent through my email but I didn't send them as he was in charge of it alongside all of my other stuff - especially when my wife was away. I can't find a solicitor but am searching for one. Because they will also think it is me. And the person who did this is not around now. I'm also worried about what he will do if he finds out I grassed him up.

Sorry for late post. My solicitor advised me not to go ahead with interview with caution as it usually never helps the accused. To be honest with you my solicitor does not have any knowledge whatsoever ever about disabled people and care system. But he was the only local one I could find that had access for wheelchairs and did legal aid work. I was very limited. I have an option of going to the police but I am being told that it will then become a police case and my house could be searched and I should wait until I am summoned by local authority. I met my solicitor today and he said that it will definitely go to court and this will be classed as sophisticated fraud. So it is not your normal run of the mill failed to inform case. And that will carry a hefty sentence. And even if it costs them huge amounts to imprison me I will be sentenced if the case warrants it. I will start repaying the money even though I never took it because solicitor says it will look good to judge. He says I can request a hearing where I can admit to some of the fraud and not all. He says the cash in hand payments I made I can't argue as that is not allowed. Oh and he said that if they do imprison me then they will arrange care are equipment. So I'm stumped. I feel if I had a better solicitor I could explain to LA and they might be sympathetic. But I'm limited in that side because of my disability and my finances. Can I not call the LA myself and explain to them what has happened. My solicitor says not a good idea until I get to see full evidence.

I'm in a bit of a worrying situation due to a possible pending court summons and eventual imprisonment. This is just an outline: I am a severely disabled middle aged man with a wife and young child. My disability is Spinal Muscular Atrophy meaning I'm unable to do all things myself and require a lot of care including help moving in bed to relieve bed sores and aches, moving and handling in and out of bed, help with washing, toileting, dressing and feeding. Because of my curved spine I need a lot of support to sit and lay down while apparatus such as hoists and chairs with help with moving. Currently all this is provided to me by my wife. Over the past 6/7 years the some of the care was bought in via private carers - paid by myself with funding from the local authority. The care bought was varied depending on my wife and how much around she was. When she was away I would require more care during the day and overnight. I failed to keep proper order of my bank account. It was my responsibility to do all the wage slips and payments. Because of my condition and the kind of help I had - it varied. But I had to send the local authority bank statements and wage slip copies each month. Over the 6/7 years I only sent the paperwork to them when I was reminded by them to send. The local authority reminded me 3 times over the 6/7 year period. Because of the care I required, I paid a lot of my carers cash in hand therefore there was no paper record. I was and am housebound and find it difficult to use or do anything. During this time a 'friend' started visiting me at my home and got me putting bets on through him. He would tell me this and this and go and put it on for me as I could not leave the house. I won a few times, he said, and lost a lot of times. Then a few months later, he drops a bombshell on me. He says to me that I owe him over £60,000. Bets he has put on behalf of me. I for one second did not believe this. But I was alone during this time. And a few times more. My wife would leave with our child and not return for months on end. I needed a lot of care and felt alone. My other carer would only come for an hour or so each day. I needed someone overnight and felt if I said something then I would be left without anyone during the night. You see without this person I couldn't even charge a mobile phone to call my child. That's how desperate and vulnerable I was on him. Well he said that he would put down more hours for himself on the wage slips to cover this money. And that it would repay itself and I don't need to worry. So he continued dealing with my emails and bank stuff. When wife was around he would pop around less but still keep the same hours. Then last year I received a letter for the council wanting me to pay them over £3000 of money that had been accumulated in my account. Money that I had not used. I got confused and worried. I got someone else to check my accounts and my emails and found out that the account was virtually empty. So how come they said I had £3000 plus built up. I got in touch with my account myself and another person helped me check my sent emails. I found out that on 3 separate occasions this carer had send different wage slips and bank statements to the council showing different amount to the ones paid or in my account. I asked this person but he disappeared. I also moved out of the area as I was offered another house. I immediately cancelled my care and said I didn't require it. I begged my wife to care for me totally as I had a huge problem with carers. I didn't know what to do. I got worried that I would get done for fraud. Nothing happened until February of this year when I got a letter from council saying I needed to come in for fraud regarding my direct payments. I contacted a solicitor who I explained everything to. He told me not to proceed with the interview at the council. Nothing happened again until last week when i received a letter saying that I had misappropriated my direct payments and have to pay back £39,000. They said I had only used £52,000 for care over the past 6/7 years and the rest I had to pay back. I am now worried what might happen. I have been worried since last year and it is making me sick. The pressure on my wife doing all the care is affecting our relationship too. My solicitor says it almost certain that I will go to a crown court and could be imprisoned for 12-18 months as it is fraud on secondary scale with forged bank statements and wage slips and amount. I have been searching on-line about severely disabled people like me in prison and can not find and examples. I am worried sick on what to do. Do I go to the police and tell them about this carer - but if I do then I'm worried what he will do to me and my family. Do I borrow money from some loan company and pay the council the whole amount and will that save me from prison. I can't even sit in my wheelchair for long periods - how am I going to go to court. And I require care and a lot of specialised equipment - will the prison have ceiling hoists and shower chairs. Will they have someone to help me wash and dress. My solicitor isn't experienced in care fraud. He is much more in the benefit fraud area which he is saying this comes down to. I asked him to speak with the council and explain my situation but he is telling me to keep quite until all the evidence is seen before court. I want to know if there are prison rooms for severely disabled people like me and will I be able to get care how and when I need it. I hope someone can help.