Carer Steals from Victim to Fuel Gambling Addiction, Goes to Prison

Gambling addiction can push many people into different unlawful actions. From scams, fraud or theft, in some cases, violent crimes are not excluded, including robberies and murder. In one recent criminal case, a carer who gained power of attorney over an elderly man abused her responsibility, stealing more than £100,000 ($132,000).

The case involved a 57-year-old resident from Harworth, Nottinghamshire, with the initials A.H. During the woman’s trial this week, the Nottingham Crown Court heard that the 57-year-old woman stole £125,000 ($165,000) from her victim, an elderly man in his 80s identified with the initials L.W., as announced by Daily Mail.

Thousands of Pounds Stolen from the Victim

The woman, who suffered from gambling addiction, was appointed as power of attorney to the elderly man back in May 2018. She retained that role until her arrest in April 2021. During the carer’s trial, the court heard that she abused the position she was entrusted with by transferring a total of £125,164.96 ($165,255) from the bank account belonging to the victim into her personal bank account.

The stolen money was used to fuel the woman’s gambling addiction. Her arrest followed a report filed by a friend of the victim who became suspicious. An investigation into the carer’s actions uncovered that she spent thousands on online gambling and used money belonging to her victim for personal expenditures.

A large share of the money stolen by the carer came from three drawdowns on a lifetime mortgage in the victim’s name, secured against his property as collateral. Nearly £94,000 ($124,000) was stolen using this technique and after arriving in the victim’s account, the money was transferred into the account belonging to the 57-year-old carer.

The Carer Took What She Wanted When She Wanted, Judge Says

Judge Mark Watson handed the sentence to the 57-year-old woman. After stealing thousands of pounds to use for gambling and abusing the trust of the elderly man, the woman was sentenced to a total of six years in prison.

Judge Watson said to the carer during the sentencing: “You took what you wanted, when you wanted it, stripping him of his life savings and then trying to take even more.” Moreover, he explained: “This was a betrayal of the very significant trust placed in you. You deliberately targeted him because of his vulnerabilities.”

The old man passed away at the age of 86 with nothing to his name. The victim’s savings accounts were emptied and he also had an overdraft to his name as a result of the actions of the carer. Prior to his passing, the victim admitted to agreeing to lend an insignificant sum to the 57-year-old carer to help her with some expenses.

Although the culprit claimed that the old man agreed to give her thousands of pounds right before her arrest, the victim refused such claims. According to the victim, the carer’s access to his funds was primarily for bills and other expenses primarily related to his wellbeing.