Care home owner who defrauded £4m from victims sentenced to 21 years

A care home owner who defrauded £4m from his victims has been sentenced to 21 years.

Liverpool Crown Court heard that between 1997 and 2013, David Barton took more than £4m from elderly residents at the Barton Park Nursing Home in Southport and tried to claim a further £10m, the Press Association reported.

Judge Steven Everett described Mr Barton as a “despicably greedy man” and a “hypocrite” who had claimed he was caring for his residents.

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Mr Barton was found guilty of four counts of conspiracy to defraud, one count of fraud, three counts of theft, false accounting and transferring criminal property.

Care home manager Rosemary Booth was jailed for six years for three counts of conspiracy to defraud.

The home’s bookkeeper Kiria Hughes was given an eight-month prison sentence suspended for two years after she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and false accounting.

The Court heard how Mr Barton groomed his residents before stealing money from their bank accounts and becoming a beneficiary in their wills.

Amanda Noyce, of Royds Withy King, who represented two of Mr Barton’s victims told CHP: “My clients are very pleased that a clear message has been sent out. Care homes up and down the country do a good job but Mr Barton was clearly a rogue individual.”

Amanda said the case highlighted the need for more regulation of the care workforce.