Gambling-addicted Derbyshire carer stole nearly £9,000 from pensioner in his 90s

Alison Hunter, 47, spent all of the money on her on gambling addiction, Derby Crown Court heard.

The carer – who worked at South Normanton’s Normanton Lodge – was suspected by her victim Derek Boardman when she seemed “reluctant” to hand back his card.

Prosecutor Leanne Summers described how Hunter stole from Mr Boardman – who died in August before she could be sentenced – for nearly a year-and-a-half between 2019 and 2020.

The fraud was reported to police in January 2021 by John Wilkinson – Derek’s cousin and power of attorney.

She said: “He informed police that a member of staff was in possession of the complainant’s bank card – the person had been withdrawing large amounts of cash from his bank account.

"At the time he had been living there for six years – he trusted her to do his shopping but began to get suspicious when she seemed reluctant to hand the card back to him.

"In the end he went to take the card from the place where it was kept and found it had gone.”

Ms Summer said after her arrest Hunter admitted to stealing £8,840.

Mr Boardman, a 96-year-old war veteran, said in a victim statement he trusted the carer as a “friend”.

The court heard he was left unable to sleep due to “anxiety and embarrassment” and no longer felt safe at Normanton Lodge.

Reading from the statement Judge Shaun Smith KC said Derek was “angry” because the care home they “did not appear to regard his concerns as “serious” when he reported them.

Raglan Ashton, defending, said Hunter’s offending was due to her online gambling habit and she “bitterly” regretted it.

Hunter, of Coronation Street, Sutton-in-Ashfield, admitted fraud by false representation.

Judge Smith told Hunter: “You’re the second person today that has fleeced vulnerable people that I’ve dealt with.

"The difference with you is the last one had done it before. What you did was despicable – there’s no doubt about that.”

However the judge noted Hunter’s mitigation was “powerful”, having read a detailed pre-sentence report about her.

He said: “Suffice to say you had a dreadful life as a young person – that led to you becoming a gambling addict.

"It was as a result of that addiction that you committed this offence.”

Hunter was handed a nine-month jail term suspended for 18 months and 15 rehabilitation activity days.

A Care Quality Commission inspection of Normanton Lodge conducted in March this year found residents were “not protected from the risk of financial abuse”.

The inspection report reads: “The provider's system and processes for managing people's finances were not robust.

"The provider’s procedure for managing people's finances had not been followed by staff and required improvement - this left people at risk of financial abuse.”

Hunter’s Derby Crown Court sentencing hearing – long-awaited by Derek and his family – was beset by multiple adjournments.

Speaking outside of court Derek’s cousin, John Wilkinson, said: “It is quite tragic that he (Derek) did not live to see justice done.

“The continual adjournments of the sentencing hearing in this case did take a toll on Derek's mental state particularly latterly.

“He was cruelly exploited by a care worker whose sole purpose should have been to help and support him in the last years of his life.”