A despicable care home manager who fleeced vulnerable and dying residents out of thousands of pounds in a "grotesque breach of trust" has been jailed.
Neil Stewart was trusted to look after the interests of elderly people at a residential care home but turned to stealing from them to bankroll his gambling habit. Newcastle Crown Court heard he started working at Risedale Residential Care Home, in Whitley Bay, in 2014 and his wrongdoing came to light in 2017 when a member of staff noticed bank statements from one seriously ill woman on his desk.
An investigation revealed he had defrauded three residents out of almost £20,000 in a shocking betrayal of his position. Now the 49-year-old has been locked up for two years after admitting three counts of fraud.
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The first victim, who has since died, had lived in the home for 14 years and was under the Court of Protection due his lack of capacity. Around £25 a week was made available for his expenses, with the occasional release of modest extra funds for things such as clothes - there were three requests for £150 in an 18 months period before the offending by Stewart.
But between August 2015 and March 2017 Stewart made 17 fraudulent requests for £200 a time, pocketing a total of £3,400.
The fraud against second victim, a woman, was revealed after Stewart left the home and a care assistant found he had got the victim a bank card to replace her bank book. Her previous spending pattern had been to take out £160 a fortnight to buy cigarettes and go to a local café. But between February 2016 and April 2017, Stewart made 124 other withdrawals, totalling £14,285.
The third victim, who has since died, was seriously ill and dying in hospital while Stewart stole from her. An investigation showed she spent most of her time lying unresponsive in hospital and was in no state to authorise the various withdrawals made by Stewart. Between February and April 2017 he used her bank card eight times at various cash machines in Whitley Bay to take out £1,960.
The court heard the first two victims had no relatives to speak up for them and the third's sister said Stewart was taken aback to discover she existed. She claimed he went on a "charm offensive" to persuade her her sister was in the best place and getting the best care and added that there ended up being insufficient money for her funeral and said "she died in a pitiful state".
Stewart, of Mill Farm Close, Elswick, Newcastle, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud. Jailing him, Judge Penny Moreland said: "This was a gross breach of trust on your part and it was offending over a sustained period of time.
"You targeted victims who were among the most vulnerable, with no-one to speak up for them. The abuse of trust here is so great, appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody."
Matthew Purves, defending, said Stewart's gambling addiction, together with his drinking, was the root cause of the "grotesque breach of trust". He said he ended up homeless but is genuinely remorseful and has not sought to justify his actions.
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