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A woman grieving the loss of her mother was heartbroken after finding her stepfather squandered a £200,000 life insurance payout – on luxury holidays for his new girlfriend.

Patrycja Miszczuk, 33, was horrified to discover her stepfather, Krzysztof Baczynski, 40, had spent all the money she was due to inherit.

Her mother, Anna Miszczuk, 45, had died just two months after being diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017.

Anna’s £200,000 life insurance money was due to go her youngest son when he turned 25, and be shared with his sister, Patrycja.

But a month after Anna’s death, husband Baczynski fooled Patrycja – who was the trustee of her insurance policies – into signing it over to him.

Anna Miszczuk, 45 (pictured), had died just two months after being diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017. Anna's £200k life insurance money was due to go her youngest son when he turned 25, and be shared with his sister, Patrycja

Anna Miszczuk, 45 (pictured), had died just two months after being diagnosed with breast cancer in September 2017. Anna’s £200k life insurance money was due to go her youngest son when he turned 25, and be shared with his sister, Patrycja

Krzysztof Baczynski, 40 (pictured), spent all the money his stepchildren were due to inherit, on luxury holidays and business ventures

Krzysztof Baczynski, 40 (pictured), spent all the money his stepchildren were due to inherit, on luxury holidays and business ventures

Baczynski spent the money ‘as if it was his own’, a court heard – even spending the critical illness part of the payout while his wife was still alive.

After her death, he splashed the cash on luxury holidays, jetting off to Tenerife, Poland and Russia with his new girlfriend.

The brazen fraudster invited Patrycja on multiple holidays – pretending his business was flourishing and footing the bill for the trips.

He also invested in a shop and used some money to prop up his failing business, which was part of a cosmetics pyramid scheme.

Baczynski burned through his wife’s money in just nine months – leaving Patrycja and her sibling completely out of pocket.

Patrycja grew suspicious when she suggested they dip into the money for rent, but Baczynski made ‘excuses’ not to use it.

He was caught out after he took photos of himself and his new partner ‘living it up’ at fancy restaurants and enjoying a new hot tub.

Krzysztof Baczynski, of Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, was found guilty of one count of fraud at Northampton Crown Court in December 2023.

He was jailed for four years and told he would be subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing in a bid to claw back some of the money.

Patrycja said the revelation had ‘torn’ her family apart.

The administrator, from Corby, Northamptonshire, said: ‘I don’t know how he could do something like this to us.

‘It’s torn our family apart. I have known him for most of my life – I never thought he was capable of this.

Patrycja Miszczuk (right) and her mother Anna Miszczuk (left)

Patrycja Miszczuk (right) and her mother Anna Miszczuk (left)

Patrycja Miszczuk (left) and her mother Anna Miszczuk (right)

Patrycja Miszczuk (left) and her mother Anna Miszczuk (right)

‘Mum would have been so devastated if she knew.

‘This money was for our future and now we have nothing left from it.

‘It’s not just a couple hundred pounds he took from us – it was everything.’

Patrycja was 16 years old when her mother married Baczynski, and they lived together as a family in Poland.

The couple moved to Corby, Northamptonshire, in 2008, and after finishing school, Patrycja joined them in the UK.

She said: ‘After my parents got divorced, I wasn’t sure about Krzysztof to begin with, but I could see how happy he made my mum, so I accepted him.

‘We were just a normal, happy family, who would do nice things together.’

In 2017, Anna started feeling tired all the time, and began going to the GP.

In August 2017, the family took a trip to Poland to see relatives, and Anna visited a doctor while there.

After several tests, Patrycja was heartbroken to learn her mum had stage four lymphoma – a type of blood cancer.

By the time she was diagnosed, the disease had spread and was incurable.

Patrycja said: ‘They said the cancer was covering 80 to 90 per cent of her liver.

‘I was in so much shock.

‘She wanted to fight and have chemotherapy, but it was too far along.

Patrycja Miszczuk (pictured right), and her mother Anna Miszczuk (left)

Patrycja Miszczuk (pictured right), and her mother Anna Miszczuk (left)

Anna Miszczuk ( in front) and Krzysztof Baczynski (pictured behind)

Anna Miszczuk ( in front) and Krzysztof Baczynski (pictured behind)

‘I felt so guilty for a long time, I should have known.’

The family returned to the UK, and after a short, two-month battle, Anna sadly passed away on September 19, 2017.

Patrycja and her younger brother – who does not wish to be named – were reassured by their mother that she had taken out a life insurance policy to ensure their future was secure.

The policy paid out £200k which was due to go to Anna’s son when he turned 25 and be shared with his sister.

However, a month after his wife’s death, Baczynski drained every penny into his own account.

Patrycja said: ‘I don’t really remember or know how he managed to get the money.

‘A lot was going on after mum died, lots of paperwork.

‘I never remember signing anything – maybe he hid it with other papers.

‘I can’t believe all it took was one signature to take all of it out the account, no ID, just that.

‘I thought the money was sitting there, waiting for when we needed it.’

Baczynski spent the money on various holidays around Europe, a car, and invested significant sums in his own business.

He even gifted some to his girlfriend at the time.

Patrycja said: ‘He invited me and my brother on holiday too, we met his new girlfriend for the first time in Russia.

‘I just thought it business was doing well, he told us they were paying everything, and I believed him.

‘He wasn’t very smart, the way he spent that money.

‘I think he thought it would never run out.’

The truth came to light when Patrycja became suspicious of Baczynski, making excuses as to why they couldn’t access the cash.

Her brother eventually called the financial advisor himself and found out the money was all gone.

Patrycja said: ‘We told Krzysztof we should use the money – mum left it for times like this.

‘He kept making excuses not to talk to us about it saying things like ‘I don’t have time right now’ and ‘we’ll do it another time’.

‘My brother called the advisor himself, and we found out what happened.

‘I was so shocked to find out every penny was gone.

‘I called Krzysztof and he answered the phone, and when I asked him, he went silent. He just hung up the phone.

‘My friends convinced me to call the police. I didn’t want to at first, I didn’t want to believe what he’d done.’

After a trial, Judge David Herbert KC told the court: ‘You don’t seem to be able to accept that was Anna’s children’s inheritance.

‘It was her dying wish they received it to set them up for life.

‘Your reckless attitude to the money is well summed-up by photographs of you living it up in restaurants and relaxing in hot tubs.’

Baczynski was jailed for four years.

Patrycia said: ‘My mum used to say, if you have problems you have to solve them, not just live with them.

‘We won’t just sit around and cry about what happened.

‘My brother suffered the most after what happened, but I think he’s doing better.

‘The court case isn’t the outcome I wanted, he should have got longer.

‘But we are doing out best to move on.’

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This post first appeared on Daily mail