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More on KentOnline
A carer stole more than £2,600 from the bank card of a dementia sufferer.
A member of staff at Avondale House in Westgate-on-Sea discovered Frazer Scott had taken the sum from the elderly resident between March and July of last year.
The 43-year-old from Anne Close, Birchington, appeared before Folkestone magistrates on Thursday.
Describing the victim as “vulnerable”, prosecutor Alan Balneaves said: “He suffers from short-term memory loss and dementia. As a result of that his day-to-day finances are looked after by care workers.”
Scott Neilson, defending, said his client made “full and frank confessions” to both his employer and the police after his thieving was discovered.
“With regards to the offence, there’s no mitigation to put forward - this is opportunistic,” Mr Neilson added.
“He didn’t have much money and he embarked on getting £2,600. He understands he was taking money from a vulnerable adult.
“With his job it’s extremely inappropriate. He is unemployable in that field again.”
Scott pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of position, but chairman of the bench Deborah Jamieson adjourned the case until June 18.
The defendant has volunteered to pay the sum back to Mr Burnett over the next three weeks.
Mr Neilson added: “I make it quite clear he is able to pay the money back in whatever timescale the court sets.
“He and his parents have made sure he has got the money.”
Care home manager Andy Waters said the incident was “deeply to be regretted”.
“It is a very sad day to recognise that a trusted staff member was able to take advantage of a vulnerable person,” he added.
After the alarm was raised, an investigation by the home highlighted “patterns of behaviour which gave us serious concern”, leading to the immediate dismissal of Scott.
Mr Waters added: “We are confident with our safe practices moving forward and have adjusted our support and monitoring to increase protection for all those we care for.
“As a service we sincerely apologised for this occurrence in our care home but take comfort in knowing that we have been able to learn from this and continue to support vulnerable people with stronger and safer systems now in place.”
