A MAN has been found guilty of duping his dying neighbour out of £45,000.
Carlos Machado, 55, of Hatfield Road, Witham, was found guilty of one offence of fraud by abusing his position as a carer at Chelmsford Crown Court last Thursday. He was accused of stealing £45,000 from his late neighbour, Brian Farlow, who suffered from lung and bone cancer.
But Machado, originally from Portugal, is adamant that the pair were working on a rocket science project for which he says Mr Farlow loaned him £15,000 research funds. During the trial Machado accepted he had spent £15,000 of Mr Farlow's money but denied theft or fraud had been involved.
Mr Farlow, who died in November 2011, told police he never gave permission for his neighbour to take the thousands of pounds.
"In the UK, to take care of a friend, it can be dangerous. This is the reality," said Machado after the court case.
"Brian and I were working on a science project together and I can tell you he himself came up with the idea.
"I asked him if he could lend me money for the research and he helped me overall with £15,000 – and that's why I say you should never put friendship with money."
Machado, who moved to the UK in March 2003, said that it was Lloyds Bank that reported him to the police.
"After all this I might be thinking of putting them through the courts," he said. "I have never been to a court of law in my life. I never talked to Brian about my research but he knew what it was for. I was considered dishonest for not telling him."
Mr Machado also claims that Mr Farlow offered him money in his will, but he declined. "That gentleman died alone and with no friends and no family," he added.
"Before dying, Brian made a will and he asked me if I wanted any money. I said no, I don't want a penny from you."
The jury failed to reach a verdict on one charge of theft and they cleared him of another fraud offence.
Judge Gratwicke directed not guilty verdicts in two other fraud allegations.
Mr Machado will be sentenced at the end of the month.