Thieving carer took £135,000 from widow, 83, blew it on holidays and threatened to burn down her house
A CARER stole £135,000 from a disabled and ‘vulnerable’ 83-year- old widow to spend on horses and luxurious holidays. Debra Adams, 46, has been jailed for five years after plundering the pensioner’s bank accounts and leaving her with just £21.70.
Her devious behaviour was only discovered when the elderly woman’s telephone was cut off, raising her suspicions and causing her to contact the police.
After she did so, Adams threw a brick through her living room window and threatened to burn the house down while she slept.
In a handwritten letter, she said: ‘Blabbing to the police was a huge mistake. You should of [sic] kept your mouth shut.
‘I never forget and I never forgive. From now on you had better make sure that your doors are locked.
‘From now on never consider yourself safe. I will get my own back.’
In another letter Adams said: ‘I hope your fire alarms are in good working order.
‘You never know what might happen, “accidents” do happen.
‘Personally I hope you rot in hell but not until you die a very slow and painful death.’ A court heard that Adams, from St Columb, Cornwall, had been paid £ 200 per week by her victim, who had even given the thief £8,000 to buy a car.
She had been given access to her victim’s bank cards and account details. She was supposed to use the bank accounts to withdraw money for shopping and to pay for items with cheques which the woman, of Padstow, Cornwall, had signed. The widow, who has asked to remain anony anonymous, has lost savings left to her by her late husband totalling £ 185,000, not all of which has been accounted for by prosecutors.
The judge in the case said Adams’s crimes constituted the most serious breach of trust he had come across in his career.
Truro Crown Court heard how between May 2008 and July 2010, she stole at least £135,000, and probably more. Judge Paul Darlow told her: ‘The charges reflect the plundering by you of the bank account of an 83-year-old, severely disabled, bedridden woman unable to look after herself.
‘You obtained overdraft facilities and credit cards she knew nothing about. She trusted you and handed you bank details and documents to enable you to take out money for her.
‘You abused her trust against a background of her not just respecting you but showing you generosity by giving you more than £8,000 to buy a car.
‘You used the money to indulge yourself and your husband on luxurious holidays and your passion for horses, and your children and grandchildren.’
Speaking of Adams’s later threats, Judge Darlow said: ‘These two letters were as malicious as they were threatening in content because she knew if you carried your threats out and set fire to her house she would burn alive.’
After the pensioner’s husband died, Adams became one of a number of carers employed to take care of her by Guinness Care and Support, a registered charity providing affordable accommodation.
In May 2008 she left their employment and became the victim’s sole carer, earning £200 a week initially, which was later reduced to £100.
Detective Chief Inspector Sarah Northcott said: ‘Adams took over the management of [the victim’s] finances and used her bank account as if it was her own.
‘As a result of not having any money ... her telephone was cut off. This is her only lifeline to the outside world.’
Adams, a mother of four, was jailed for five years and two months after pleading guilty to 14 charges of theft and fraud.
A further 135 offences were taken into consideration.