Man who used son’s laptop to steal money from ex-wife avoids jail

Feb. 25—NEWBURYPORT — A Beverly man who used his son’s school laptop to steal $200 from his ex-wife last year admitted he could be found guilty of larceny but avoided a jail sentence during Thursday’s appearance in Newburyport District Court.

Joseph Parsons, 36, of Blaine Avenue, was also charged with identity fraud but saw that offense dropped as part of Thursday’s plea deal in front of Judge Richard Mori. The larceny charge was continued without a finding for a year. Should Parsons stay out of trouble with the law and pay a $50 fine, the charge against him will be dismissed after a year.

Parsons girlfriend, Ashley Berns, was also charged with the offenses but saw both offenses dropped.

Newburyport police Officer Kyle McElroy spoke to Parsons’ ex-wife in May 2021, after she noticed someone had stolen $200 from her bank account. The ex-wife noticed the money had been withdrawn from a third-party computer app under her son’s name. Her son, according to McElroy, had her bank information saved on his laptop but “he had noting to do with the $200 withdrawal.”

Suspicion fell upon Parsons after she remembered that he had borrowed their son’s laptop a few days before noticing the withdrawal. She then called Parsons’ mother who claimed her son used the same bank app to withdraw more than $2,000 from her account.

According to the ex-wife, Parsons and Berns were homeless and living in hotels at the time of the theft, McElroy’s report noted.

When confronted with her suspicion, Parsons denied stealing the money but said Berns must have done it. Parsons then said he would pay his ex-wife back, something he did later on.

“Joseph told her that he was with Ashley Berns when the laptop was taken and stated he took it because Ashley needed a MacBook,” McElroy wrote in his report.

The ex-wife contacted Berns who told her Parsons had stolen the money. Berns then said Parsons stole her phone and used it to download the banking app.

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“Ironically, Joseph told (his ex-wife) the same story, only Ashley was the one who stole his phone and created the account,” McElroy wrote in his report.

A short time later, Parsons called McElroy and told him the same story.

“Joseph told me that he would never steal money that belonged to his children,” McElroy wrote in his report. “While speaking to Joseph, he informed me that he set up the Cash App account back in August (2020) under his mother’s name and does not know why the account said his son’s name on (his ex-wife’s) bank statement.”

However, the ex-wife told McElroy that Parsons had created several Cash App accounts since making his mother’s account.

McElroy eventually filed summonses against Parsons and Berns to appear in court, according to his report.

Dave Rogers is a reporter with the Daily News of Newburyport. Email him at: [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @drogers41008.