A 'naïve' charity shop manager stole thousands of pounds from a local hospice after falling victim to an online romance scam.
Claire Starkey stole the cash from the St John's Hospice branch where she worked earlier this year, a court heard. She had fallen behind with paying her bills after being 'hoodwinked' into sending money to a man she had met online, the Liverpool Echo reports.
Yesterday (Tuesday), the mum-of-two walked free from court after a judge said she had been 'taken advantage of'. Joanne Cronshaw, prosecuting, told Liverpool Crown Court that the 47-year-old was the manager of the charity's shop on Upton Road in Claughton.
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But checks carried out by an IT support worker revealed a total of 38 'unbanked' transactions between January and March this year. Starkey, of Strathlorne Close in Rock Ferry, claimed that the safe was 'faulty' and she had not been able to access money when this issue was raised with her.
The area manager attended the store in order to assist her, but when she arrived she was falsely told that the cash had already been collected by a security company. But CCTV footage revealed that this had not been the case, and the defendant admitted to the Higher Bebington hospice's marketing manager what she had done.
Overall, Starkey had stolen a sum of £3,989.88 from the good cause. Zahra Baqri, defending, told the court that her client was a 'valued team member' when working for St John's Hospice over 10 years, but has since been dismissed for gross misconduct and was now in receipt of Universal Credit.
The mother, who has no previous convictions, walked with the aid of crutches as she suffers from spinal arthritis and is in 'constant pain' - as well as having mental health difficulties. Ms Baqri added: "After a traumatic breakup with her partner of 16 years, she engaged with a male online and was coerced and hoodwinked into sending thousands of pounds to him.
"She fell behind in paying her bills. She was lovely, she was naïve, she wanted to believe the man was romantically interested in her and that he would eventually come over to England.
"She closed her eyes to the fact the she was being tricked. Her actions were foolish in the extreme.
"This is not a momentary lapse of judgement. She is a well known lady within her community, and she was also a respected member of the community. She has betrayed the trust of her employer and colleagues, who had become close friends."
Starkey admitted theft by employee and was handed a six-month imprisonment suspended for 18 months. She was also told to serve a two-month electronically monitored curfew from 7pm to 7am plus a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 25 days, as well as being required to pay a victim surcharges and return the money at a rate of £150 per month.
Sentencing, Recorder Kevin Slack said: "You met online a male who professed to show a romantic interest in you. It is plain now, he was out for money.
"You sent him money repeatedly. The money was not yours, it was money you had stolen from the hospice.
"I find it was a gross breach of trust to steal from your employer - not just any employer, but a charity providing palliative care to the dying. This was committed over a sustained period of time, it was not an isolated error.
"But there is much to be said on your behalf. I am aware of the significant health difficulties that you suffer from.
"Most importantly, you are the primary carer for your two children. I make it plain that I consider this was a despicable piece of offending.
"People with very little donate lots to the hospice, as well you know from your position. In reality, you have stolen from your community just as much as the hospice itself.
"You ought to be, and I am satisfied you are, ashamed of yourself for your conduct. But I am persuaded that this is a sentence I can properly suspended.
"Your offending, as despicable as it was, was in the context of you being taken advantage of by someone who plainly was a fraudster themselves - preying on you at a very vulnerable time in your life."
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