SoCal
Can't comment on the legalities of whose money it actually was, or who's entitled to take any legal action, or even whether the whole thing seems odd
or not.
However, it's not that unusual to get kids with rich parents and/or trust funds starting to fly at 14, doing the dual parts of the PPL course between 14 and 16, then getting in the solo hours and skill test, ready for the CAA to issue their licence at 17. I must have seen this at least a dozen times and I'm at a small place in a rural county, you would think it may be more common in more affluent areas. I've known two students over the last couple of years whose trust funds would pay out for anything even vaguely aviation related. If Cathy's daughter has an educational trust fund, then I don't see why it wouldn't pay for a PPL if she said she was going for the modular route to a CPL.