Care home banned from taking new residents after owner steals £4m from elderly

Barton Park care home in Southport has been banned from taking on any new residents without prior permission from the care regulator, after its owner was jailed for defrauding residents of £4.1m.

David Barton, 63, was jailed for 21 years in July and disqualified from being a director for a maximum of 15 years. Rosemary Booth, 69, general manager of the care home was jailed for six years, for her part in the conspiracy to defraud.

Barton, formerly known as Ramamurthie Dasaratha, was found guilty of defrauding six residents over a 16-year period, since 1998. He spent the money on Ferraris, Rolls Royces and properties.

The offences only came to light in February 2014 when Barton tried to sue the family of one of his victims for non-payment of money which he falsely claimed he was owed.

The care home is currently still in operation but is forbidden from taking on new residents, without prior written permission from the Care Quality Commission (CQC). This also includes people on short term placements or respite care. This condition will only be lifted when inspectors are satisfied the service is safe and capable enough to care for more residents, or if the home proves this to be the case and applies to remove the condition.

A spokesman for the CQC said: “It is unacceptable for people in care to be subjected to any form of abuse or criminal activity. CQC have and continue to work closely with our partner agencies, and the Police, on matters such as these to ensure people in care are safe, protected and well cared for.

“CQC continue to actively monitor Barton Park, a report on the inspection findings will be issued in due course.”

Most of the victims were women who had recently lost their husbands, were wealthy and had no dependants. No contracts have ever been identified and Barton claimed they had made verbal agreements to gift him money, leave it in their wills or made an agreement to provide lifelong care in exchange for all their wealth.

Two victims were encouraged to buy luxury cars from Barton. Although these were worth a total of £260,000, Barton received £1m from the residents. Another bought a large plot of land and stables and was joint owner with Barton, despite the defendant not paying anything towards the sale.

He took large payments from the residents’ bank accounts and after he was arrested, Barton sold four Ferraris for over £1m, and two Rolls Royce vehicles for £250,000 before a Financial Restraint was granted to prevent the selling of 20 properties and four more vehicles with an estimated total value of £6-8m.

Detective Inspector Jon Smith, who led the investigation, said: “For 16 years, David Barton preyed upon wealthy elderly people in Southport, bleeding them of their hard-earned savings and enjoying a lavish lifestyle of fast cars, holidays and multiple properties as a result.

"Barton ruthlessly groomed his victims, gaining their trust and confidence to such an extent that when we spoke to his victims, some found it very difficult to accept that they were victims.

"His offending came to light because his greed led him to sue a family who realised an £8m civil claim against them was fraudulent.”

DI Smith added: “The vast majority of people involved in the care of the elderly do a fantastic job. David Barton has let those people down, as well the people he was paid to look after.

Andrew West, from the CPS (Crown Prosecution Service), called it a "complex and long running fraud" saying: "Barton abused his position of trust to groom his victims and make them believe he was the only one who cared for them. He made sure they relied on him entirely.

“He stopped families seeing their loved ones while at the same time lying to residents that their families were trying to harm them. It was all a cruel, cynical and calculated plot to take as much money as possible from the vulnerable and elderly people in his care."

Sefton Council has rehomed the majority of the residents at Barton Park and the home currently has a rating of Requires Improvement, with the CQC continuing to monitor the home.