Saltash care boss and 1,000-a-month gambling addict Sharon … – Cornwall Live

A care home boss who conned an elderly resident out of 9,000 to feed her 1,000-a-month gambling addiction has narrowly avoided a prison sentence.

Sharon Smith, 52, of Dellohay Park in Saltash, appeared at Truro Crown Court today to be sentenced after being found guilty after a trial of one count of fraud.

She was convicted of abusing her position as manager at Rowan House care home by taking resident Robert Berridge, now 68, to a local Lloyd's bank branch on numerous occasions between December 2014 and September 2015 and instructing him to withdraw cash that she said would go towards top up fees for his care.

During the trial prosecutor Philip Lee, for the CPS, revealed Mr Berridge already had direct debits set up which covered his care fees other than a small amount left in arrears due to a standing order alteration.

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Smith was sentenced at Truro Crown Court

During the sentencing hearing Mr Lee referred to Mr Berridge's victim personal statement which stated that the offending had resulted in a deterioration of his physical and mental health.

The statement also described a "betrayal of trust" that affected Mr Berridge very badly and Mr Lee then described how Smith's actions resulted in suspicion falling on other innocent members of staff at Rowan House.

Smith first came under the spotlight when local Lloyds Bank staff became concerned because she was taking residents of the home into the branch to withdraw cash.

An investigation by officers from the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) found Smith was using her position at the care home to take advantage of a resident by getting him to withdraw money from his account for her own benefit.

Between November 2014 and October 2015 9,007 was withdrawn from the resident's bank account.

After she was charged, Smith breached her bail conditions by returning to the care home and depositing three envelopes of money with the resident's name on into the safe, in an attempt to suggest the money had always been in the safe.

Defending Smith, Jason Beal said that she was of "previous unblemished character".

"She worked her way up from the bottom, first starting as a care worker when she left school at 16.

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"People liked her and before what the jury found to be a period of criminal activity she went above and beyond the managerial requirements at the home."

Mr Beal also said that Smith currently acts as a carer for her step-father, who is in bad health, looking after him and making him meals.

Sentencing Smith, Recorder Andrew Maitland, said: "In the space of about a year you effectively stole 9,000 from Robert Berridge by abusing your position of manager at Rowan House.

"He's now 68 and both his physical and mental health are fail. By any stretch of the imagination he was a very vulnerable victim.

"The reason you committed this appalling breach of trust was to feed your own gambling addiction on which you spent 34,000 either directly or on loans to feed your habit.

"It is quite clear to me that there does not exist one iota of remorse from you about your actions. Robert Berridge trusted you and felt you were honest and you betrayed that trust, it is solely your actions which have caused such distress."

Recorder Maitland also expressed his reservations that Smith does not accept the true extent of her gambling addiction.

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Nonetheless he handed her a two-year prison sentence, suspended for two years, along with 200 hours of unpaid work and a rehab activity requirement of 15 days to address the gambling addiction.

DC Fiona Roope, who investigated the case for the DCPCU, said: "Sharon Smith exploited the trust of her employers and, most importantly, a vulnerable resident of the care home where she worked who now faces financial hardship. The police will take swift action to protect vulnerable victims and the staff at Lloyd's Bank should be commended for spotting and reporting her behaviour.

"I would remind anyone thinking of committing a similar crime that there are very real consequences in doing so and police and banks will do all they can to ensure you are brought to justice."

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