Andrew Taylor stole money from the accounts of 13 pensioners whose affairs he was looking after, many of whom were in care homes, and splurged it on adult webcams, prostitutes and collectibles
The ex-wife of a solicitor who fleeced vulnerable clients out of more than £600,000 which he blew on sex services and antiques has blamed the Parkinson’s drugs prescribed by his doctor.
Andrew Taylor stole the money from the accounts of 13 pensioners whose affairs he was looking after, many of whom were in care homes or had dementia, and splurged it all on adult webcams, prostitutes and collectibles.
A court later heard his impulsive behaviour was caused by the side effects of the Parkinson’s medication Pramipexole, a type of dopamine agonist drug which left him with “hyper-sexuality” and an inability to control himself.
The drugs are an established treatment for Parkinson’s, Restless Legs Syndrome and other conditions. They have been prescribed 1.5 million times by GPs alone in England past year.
But his ex-wife Frances, who divorced Taylor while he was in prison after pleading guilty to 13 counts of fraud, said it “completely dismantled” his life.
He had stopped taking it immediately after discovering its effect on him and his Parkinson’s symptoms had advanced. Andrew moved into sheltered accommodation after his release from prison and took his own life in October 2020.
It was the second tragedy to hit the family after Harry, the son Frances shared with Taylor, also committed suicide. Frances said he had a history of mental health struggles and found the arrest “very difficult to cope with”.
Neither of their deaths will be recorded in the UK’s Yellow Card record – the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency’s reported adverse effects from drugs – because they died by suicide.
Frances, who has moved hundreds of miles away from the village where she lived, told the BBC: “I had my life taken away from me: my home, the community I lived in, but above all my son. I just don’t have the words to say how devastating that is.”
Taylor, from Cheadle, set up his solicitor firm in 1990 and was a pillar of the community before launching his thieving spree in 2011. A court heard the drugs he was prescribed caused “compulsive” behaviour and that Taylor became obsessed with sex and shopping.
He had power of attorney over 12 of his 13 victims and transferred large sums of cash from their accounts to his own and also wrote cheques from them to himself over a 14 month period.
In one staggering case, he stole £400,000 from a 86-year-old with dementia who required round-the-clock care at the time. He also stole almost £3,000 from an 87-year-old victim.
When she died in 2013, the theft meant she did not have enough money to fund her funeral. Taylor spent more than £100,000 on one sex site alone, and another £80,000 on sex workers in just four months.
When arrested, he was found to have the numbers of 90 sex workers in his phone. Taylor also spent more than £85,000 on eBay, purchasing antiques including pens, pottery and cricket memorabilia.
At Manchester Crown Court, Mr Justice Openshaw said: “The money is all gone – squandered on sexual excesses and frittered away on absurd extravagancies. I accept you had many problems.
“It is highly likely that the compulsive, extravagant, behaviour was triggered by the drugs you were taking. However, on proper analysis, that’s no real mitigation.
“You were still a practising solicitor and were carrying out other areas of your work competently. There were people you could have sought help from.”
His daughter Alice said he “never forgave” himself after his son’s suicide. Harry, who had schizophrenia, had been sectioned and found dead weeks after he was released on the coast of Holland.
The types of compulsive behaviour which can be caused by dopamine agonist drugs include new sexual urges, addiction, shopping and gambling. As many as one in six people on the drugs are thought to be affected by as impulse control disorders.
The chair of the MPs’ Health Select Committee has now written to the UK drugs regulator asking for a review of official warnings. Layla Moran said: “It’s not just a side effect that affects an individual, it’s affecting families and communities and creating new victims.
“What does ‘impulsive behaviour’ mean and how likely is it that they [patients] can get it? At the moment, patients don’t have that information, and without it, how can they be expected to mitigate it?”
Ensure our latest headlines always appear at the top of your Google Search by making us a Preferred Source. Click here to activate or add us as a Preferred Source in your Google search settings.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletter by clicking here.