However, even though officers found his car near the infamous south coast suicide spot Simon Grimes, 44, walked into a police station a few days later.
He confessed to transferring the money from the bank accounts of his mother Linda Grimes, 73, telling police he spent the cash on cocaine, alcohol and gambling, plus the payment of a loan shark debt.
The former Tesco employee, of Kenilworth Road, Petts Wood, Orpington, is now fighting the charges at Croydon Crown Court.
He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position in relation to a Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) account and Nationwide account between May 20, 2016 and June 16, 2022.
Linda investigated with the assistance of her other son, Mark, 48, and the pair visited her local branch.
“I was devastated. I just broke down in Nationwide and cried, not thinking my son could do that to me,” she told the jury today (Monday).
“I did not give him any permission to do that. He just did it himself and there was never a straight answer.
“I confronted him and he became angry because I think he knew what he did was wrong.
“He said he put the money in an offshore account in Amsterdam to make more money, but it was a lie.”
Grimes had moved into his mother’s Andover Road, Orpington bungalow on the condition he contribute to the utility bills after his marriage collapsed, but the trial heard he took advantage of this to intercept his mother’s post.
“We did find all the letters he kept from me,” said Linda. “In his bedroom there were lots of letters in my name, new bank card and PIN’s.”
A few days after he was exposed Simon left his mother a note on the coffee table.
She told the court it read: ‘I’m sorry for what I’ve done. By the time you read this I will be at Beachy Head and I will be dead.’
“I had to call the police and they did a search of Beach Head. That was not a very good day either,” she added.
“They did a search and a couple of days later he walked into a police station. I then heard he was in a psychiatric hospital and that is the last time I have heard of or seen Simon.”
Earlier, prosecutor Robin Griffiths told the jury: “Over several years Simon Grimes abused the trust of his mother Linda by transferring funds from her RBS and Nationwide accounts into his own bank account.
“Before he plundered her bank accounts she considered herself comfortably well-off, following the death of her husband Malcolm in 2015.
“He was a successful chartered accountant with his own business and owned four other properties and the entire estate passed to his widow.
“Those properties and the accountancy business were sold for substantial sums and the proceeds paid into Linda’s RBS account.”
Eventually Linda also sold the bungalow she had shared with her late husband, banking the proceeds with Nationwide, and moved into a Croydon rental property with Simon, which he claimed was owned by a friend of his.
“By June, 2022 it was all gone and the account was in overdraft,” explained Mr Griffiths. “The RBS account was also in a £6,000 overdraft.
“These accounts were to provide a comfortable existence in her golden years, but now she has a bleak financial outlook with only her pension.”
On July 4, 2022 Linda and older son Mark finally discovered the truth at a West Wickham branch of Nationwide.
“When asked what had happened to the money Simon was angry and defensive, claiming the funds were offshore gaining interest.”
On August 8, 2022 Mark reported his brother to the police and he was finally questioned on June 9, 2023.
“He said since his father had passed away he had a really bad time and was drinking, taking drugs and gambling, going to sleep at 7am and 8am.
“He said his mother allowed him access to her accounts and he fell into a cycle and lost £40,000 of his own money from the sale of his own matrimonial home.”
Grimes also told police a loan shark debt increased from £15,000 to £40,000 and aggressive collectors had been banging on the bungalow’s front door.
“I went to Beachy Head to do myself in, but I didn’t,” said Grimes. “I was doing drugs, cocaine, everyday.”
Linda continued giving evidence from behind a screen “Most of the money had been taken out of the bank without my knowledge. Certain things happened and there was northing in the bank.
“The way to pay the mortgage off was to sell the bungalow and move. I liked it, but there were too many sad memories there.
“The idea was to buy another property, but that did not happen as most of the money had been taken from the bank without my knowledge.
“It was supposed to be hidden away and not touched.”
Via his defence lawyer Grimes has suggested his brother Mark is an “intimidating” individual, describing him as a “money-orientated successful businessman.”
His defence team also produced bank records, which they suggest proves Linda was capable of making online and international money transfers, which she denies.
Trial continues……………
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