‘Despicable’ carer who stole £30,000 sobs as she’s jailed
- Rachel Dawes plundered her sufferer’s financial institution accounts over a three-year interval
A ‘despicable’ carer who stole £30,000 from a disabled man she was meant to be taking care of sobbed in court docket yesterday as she was jailed for greater than two years.
Rachel Dawes, often known as Rachel Evans, spent the cash on Amazon Prime, Netflix, betting outlets, jewelry and takeaways over the course of three-and-a-half years.
The carer raided the checking account of ‘weak’ Gary Stewart, who had studying disabilities, whereas fooling his household into pondering she was taking care of him by inviting him spherical for Christmas Day.
The mother-of-two was discovered to have left her sufferer with simply £65.95 in financial savings and 38p on his electrical energy meter after plundering £30,765.30 between September 2017 and March 2021.
When she was caught Dawes, of Kingsway South in Warrington, claimed she had turn into ‘overwhelmed’ following the loss of life of her mom and she or he wept in court docket as she was put behind bars on Tuesday, February 27.
Rachel Dawes, pictured right here in a police mugshot, stole £30,000 from a disabled man she was meant to be caring for
The mother-of-two spent the cash on Amazon Prime, Netflix, betting outlets, jewelry and takeaways
Her plot nonetheless was rumbled when she was suspended from her job attributable to not finishing care information and permitting shoppers to go to her residence.
This resulted in one other carer at her employer Wirral-based Sage Care Ltd. visiting Mr Stewart on March 26, 2021.
The different carer, Wendy Beckett, was shocked to search out him dwelling in ‘uninhabitable’ situations, with no meals and simply 38p of emergency money left on the meter.
She took him meals procuring, however discovered there was not sufficient cash in his account to pay for it.
At Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, prosecutor Ben Stanley stated: ‘Ms Beckett regarded by way of a few of his financial institution statements.
‘Mr Stewart stated the financial institution statements have been unopened as a result of the defendant (Dawes) would shout at him if he opened them with out her. T
‘right here have been additionally extra financial institution statements hidden below the carpet within the cabinet which Mr Stewart was not conscious of.
‘Upon examination of the financial institution statements, Ms Beckett observed there have been irregular funds, together with common pharmacy and faculty funds.’
Concerned, Ms Beckett contacted Sage Care, and an additional investigation discovered a protracted string of surprising funds from Mr Stewart’s account.
These included subscriptions for a cell phone, tv providers, Amazon Prime and Netflix.
There have been additionally funds for Amazon purchases, Ebay purchases, PayPal transactions, Ladbrokes bets and takeaway dinners, in addition to common money withdrawals.
Dawes took a lot cash that her sufferer was left with simply £65.95 in his checking account and 38p on his meter
In complete, Dawes made 53 funds to her Amazon account, 4 Argos purchases, 4 funds to Brighthouse for a settee, washer and TV, two automobile insurance coverage funds, 48 common funds to her vitality firm, 16 funds to betting outlets, two funds to Warrington Vets4Pets, 19 pharmacy funds, six PayPal and eBay purchases, and two funds to jewelry store Pandora.
Meanwhile, Mr Stewart was left with out electrical energy, warmth and meals.
In October 2020, one neighbour reported the 60-year-old had knocked on her door saying he had no fuel or electrical energy and that he was freezing.
Every week later he turned up once more, saying he was hungry and freezing and had nothing to eat.
The court docket heard Mr Stewart’s household, who lived in Scotland and Dubai, had expressed issues about Mr Stewart’s telephone being lower off a number of instances.
However, they trusted Dawes to take care of him whereas they have been unable to go to him attributable to Covid-19 restrictions, and even gave her £50 after she advised them she had invited Mr Stewart to spend Christmas Day at her home.
Dawes, 43, was interviewed by police on November 18, 2021, when she admitted utilizing Mr Stewart’s cash for her personal means, however claimed this was attributable to desperation.
She pleaded responsible to fraud by abuse of place and appeared for sentence in court docket on Tuesday.
Carmel Wild, defending, stated: ‘Clearly this can be a stunning and despicable offence and the defendant acknowledges that together with her responsible plea. She has described being disgusted with herself and she or he acknowledged her dishonesty at her first interview.
‘From the very begin she acknowledged how dishonest her behaviour has been and it will need to have been very distressing for the complainant’s household to find what had been occurring.
Dawes was jailed for two-and-a-half years at Liverpool Crown Court on Tuesday, February 27
‘The defendant says she wasn’t pondering straight with all the pieces occurring in her life and felt overwhelmed.
‘This appeared to stem from her being medicated for nervousness and despair following the loss of life of her mom, who she was very near. Her mum did loads for her.
‘She was very shocked to find after her mom’s loss of life, £21,000 money owed had been taken out below the defendant’s title. She was fighting that and dealing for minimal wage.
‘She had to surrender work to take care of her husband after he was recognized with extreme spinal situations and is awaiting surgical procedure. She had a variety of difficulties in caring for her personal youngsters, she does really feel overwhelmed from the strain.’
She stated Dawes had began taking Mr Stewart’s cash out of desperation, however this had ‘spiralled uncontrolled’ and she or he quickly started shopping for luxuries.
Judge Katherine Pierpoint stated: ‘You dipped into Mr Stewart’s account when and wherever you fancied…. His household had themselves expressed concern when his telephone had been lower off.
‘Little did they realise this was since you had cleared his checking account. They thought you have been there taking care of him.
‘They have been happy to know you had invited him to your home for Christmas. You tricked them into believing you have been caring for him.
‘On the face of it, it could seem you have been caring for him, however when one is aware of what you have been doing behind the scenes, it paints a really completely different image.
‘As a results of your behaviour, Mr Stewart was left in a really troublesome monetary state. He was left hungry at instances and did not have sufficient electrical energy or heating in his deal with.’
Judge Pierpoint added that it was ‘no simply the bodily results’ of the crime that had harm Mr Stewart.
She stated: ‘It’s additionally the emotional impression and harm it causes. He was discovered, in 2021, as being a confused, offended, annoyed man. It’s a matter of luck that he has been in a position to rebuild his life and is now doing a lot better.’
She added: ‘You say on the time of the offending your head wasn’t with it and you were not pondering straight. While I settle for there have been difficulties, this was not a interval of 1 or two days the place you dipped into Mr Stewart’s checking account.
‘You did so usually, systematically over a interval of three and half years. I discover it troublesome to just accept that ‘your head wasn’t with it’ for the entire of that point.’
She sentenced Dawes to 2 years and 6 months in jail, and made a restraining order banning her from contacting Gary Stewart for 5 years.
She stated: ‘This is an especially severe matter. You have been ready of belief. You have been anticipated as a part of your job to safeguard Gary Stewart. You abused that belief in probably the most severe means.
‘You used his cash everytime you fancied it, dipping in when and the place you needed, and that had a direct and severe detrimental impression on him.’
Dawes cried as she left the dock.
