Care home manager and daughter jailed for £20,000 theft from 94-year-old

A mother and daughter employed at a care home in Sunderland have been jailed for stealing £20,000 from a 94-year-old woman in their care.

Suzanne Stewart, a former general manager of Sycamore Care Center in Nookside, Sunderland, and her daughter Carly Douglas (who was employed as a care assistant), admitted theft, money laundering and fraud offences at Newcastle Crown Court.

‘Despicable’ to ‘prey’ on elderly woman

The court heard Douglas stole £18,000 and made three phone calls to a bank impersonating a female resident, in an effort to reactivate the pensioner’s frozen bank account.

Within four weeks (between 23 June and 20 July 2016), £18,000 was stolen from the elderly woman's bank account and transferred into Douglas’ account and a further £2,991 was withdrawn from the resident’s account via 13 cash withdrawals from ATMs.

Detective Constable Terry Robertson, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was a despicable abuse of trust which saw two workers prey on an elderly woman in their care.

“Stewart and Douglas saw an opportunity to use the victim’s confused state for their own financial gain”.

Aware she may be caught, Stewart inputted false entries into the care home’s internal database to try to explain why cash had been withdrawn, which she insisted came at the victim’s request.

Stewart,aged 49, has been jailed for 27 months and Douglas, 27, was jailed for 30 months.

‘Treachery’

DC Robertson said the women had “attempted to cover up their crimes until the last possible moment, only choosing to plead guilty at court when their treachery was unequivocally laid bare”.

The elderly woman moved to Sycamore Care Centre, following a series of falls. She died in 2017.

Care home response: Pair caused ‘enormous distress’

Linda Wrout, managing director of Sycamore Care Centre, said the care home has been left “devastated” by the former workers’ actions.

“This was an appalling breach of trust which was carried out under the noses of both residents and employees,” she said.

“Stewart was a manager who everybody trusted, having been in her role for 12 years, and this meant we were all taken in by her lies and deceit. She and her daughter, Douglas, have caused enormous distress and upset to everyone who lives and works here.

“We do not handle any of our residents’ finances. The overwhelming majority of our service users have a nominated and trusted relative or friend to look after their affairs."

The care home has been inspected by Financial Governance at Sunderland City Council, as a result of the case. It has informed residents and their families of the crime and explained the setting’s financial policies and procedures.

Referring to the council's investigation, Ms Wrout added: "All of their findings verify our high standards and good practices, also stating that they could not suggest anything further that we could have put in place to mitigate the low risk.

“I am incredibly proud of the work undertaken by the overwhelming majority of our staff, who will continue to provide the best possible care and support to the most vulnerable people in our communities”.