A carer has been jailed for stealing from a 92-year-old woman who was left so distraught she ended up in hospital.
Samantha Mook, 38, was held in such confidence by her victim that she handed the fraudster her bank card to withdraw money for her.
Mook, from Malton, withdrew the cash – but kept some for herself, York Crown Court heard.
Prosecutor Nick Peacock said Mook had been assigned to look after the named victim by her employer, a local care company.
Just before Christmas 2022, Mook took the victim to the post office in Malton to withdraw £500 at the pensioner’s request.
The victim, who had multiple health conditions, gave Mook her bank card to withdraw the money for her and the carer withdrew £500 as requested, but then went to a nearby cashpoint to withdraw “a variety of increasing amounts (of cash)”.
The victim, who completely trusted her carer, presumed she had given her the full £500 and put the money in a drawer at her home.
However, she then received a bank statement from Natwest bank which showed that £100 had been withdrawn from a cashpoint in Malton.
The eagle-eyed victim spotted the discrepancy and contacted her daughter who confirmed that something was wrong.
Following further enquiries by the victim and her family, police were called in and Mook was arrested at her home.
She was taken to Scarborough Police Station but claimed she had done nothing wrong – even claiming that the victim had signed a document giving her consent to withdraw and keep the missing money.
Mr Peacock said it was unclear how much of the £500 which was initially withdrawn had gone missing, but the Crown was content to prosecute on the grounds that an unspecified sum of money had been stolen.
Breach of trust
Mook, of Hillside Way, West Lutton, was charged with theft and five counts of fraud – the latter relating to her repeated use of the victim’s bank card at the cashpoint and the forged signature.
She denied all allegations and the case went to trial in December when the victim had to give evidence in court about Mook’s wrongdoing and the faked signature.
During the trial, the defence suggested to the victim that she had been “mistaken in all this” and that the signature was her own, but the jury rejected Mook’s outlandish claim and found her guilty on all counts.
The “brazen” thief appeared for sentence on Thursday (15 February) with her bag already packed for prison.
Mr Peacock said that Mook, who is a mother, had a previous conviction for battery.
The victim said she had always been a confident and independent person until Mook’s betrayal and breach of trust.
She said she had served her country and “worked extremely hard all my life” to earn herself a quiet and peaceful retirement and pay for the care she needed in her old age.
In later life her health deteriorated and she and her daughter agreed that she should seek home care.
She had twice-weekly care provided by the company and, fatefully, Mook was assigned to help her around the house, cook for her and take her shopping.
She said that due to Mook’s despicable behaviour, she was now too mistrusting to take on any other carers which had curbed her day-to-day living.
“I simply can’t trust anyone to care for me,” she added. “This is greatly upsetting.”
She had become “severely depressed” in the run-up to the trial and said that her health had deteriorated still further due to her ordeal, to the extent that she spent five weeks in Scarborough Hospital earlier this year.
Defence barrister Tom Jackson said Mook’s crimes were “opportunistic” and that she was sole carer for her poorly mother with whom she lived.
Mook, who had recently found a new job at a bakery, was also reeling from the breakdown of her 21-year-relationship with her former partner after her offences came to light.
Judge Sean Morris said the emotional harm to the victim had “knocked this woman’s confidence for six”.
He told Mook: “This was a disgraceful thing to do, and it was done out of greed.
“I have read good things about you and your own mother is in need of help, (but) you should have thought about that before you preyed on an elderly and vulnerable woman.”
Mook was handed an eight-month jail sentence but will only serve half of that behind bars before being released on prison licence.