Care home worker who stole £6,500 from resident given suspended sentence

A care home worker who stole £6,500 from a resident living with dementia has been handed a suspended sentence.

Corina Turner, who pleaded guilty to withdrawing the cash from the account of a resident at Westwood Care Home in Derby between April 1 and May 6, was handed a 10-month jail sentence, suspended for 18 months, Derbyshire Live reported.

Ms Turner pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of her position and paid back more than half the money stolen.

Story continues below

Advertisement

Judge Shaun Smith QC, who ordered Ms Turner to pay the remaining £3,100 back to her victim and to carry out 100 hours unpaid work, said: “In a very short space of time after starting work at a care home you took advantage of a lady there who could and should have expected better.”

Ms Turner’s fraud was discovered when she presented her victim as her mother at a bank when attempting to make a £900 withdrawal in her name.

A Derbyshire police spokesman said: “Cases like this show that the banking protocol works.

“We thank the staff for their quick thinking actions which kept a vulnerable person from being swindled.”

Baljit Johal, owner of Westwood Care Home said she employed Turner “in good faith” after receiving “good references”, but terminated her employment immediately when she admitted her offending.

She said: “First and foremost the safety of our customers is always paramount to us.

“We worked with the council ensuring the correct protocol was carried out.”