High-living boss f leeced care home residents of £923,000
A CARE manager who stole almost £1 million from vulnerable residents and spent it on the high life was jailed for seven years yesterday.
Dianna Turner, 53, was claiming benefits and not paying taxes while siphoning off hundreds of thousands of pounds from ten people living in her supported accommodation.
She spent the cash on expensive cars, exotic holidays and a portfolio of properties, including two in Dubai, Sheffield Crown Court was told. While committing the fraud over a nine-year period, she was also receiving a £50,000 annual salary as a manager at Glastonbury Guest House in Sheffield.
The residents she targeted had mental health problems, learning difficulties and issues with drink and drugs, which made them easy to manipulate, the court heard.
Turner was convicted of fraud after a three-week trial. She was described as ‘greedy’ and ‘arrogant’ by Judge Graham Reeds QC as he passed sentence yesterday.
He told her: ‘What you did can only be explained by greed. You took as much money from them as you could for as long as you could – I’m sure this was arrogance on your part. You decided they didn’t need the money so you took it.’
South Yorkshire Police said the total amount Turner illegally acquired from ten people was £ 923,000. The court heard she bought a Range Rover Evoque with the personalised registration plate ‘DI4NA T’ and an Audi A3 for her son. She also bought five houses that she rented out, including two in Dubai, and went on luxury holidays to Italy and New York.
Prosecutor Tom Storey said Turner persuaded residents to set up standing orders to accounts linked to her and her brothers, and would also make them withdraw large sums of cash for ‘rent’.
He said this happened despite the fact that the majority of residents’ fees were paid directly by Sheffield City Council to David Andrews, the owner of the guest house.
The barrister said one resident was paying a monthly standing order of £943 to an account in the name of Turner’s mother. The fraud was revealed when Mr Andrews noticed residents’ bank accounts were linked to Turner’s accounts.
Turner’s brothers Khalid, 59, and Waleed Rahman, 58, were accused of laundering the illegal takings, but were found not guilty.
Detective Constable James Hughes said Turner ‘selfishly and shamelessly took advantage of the vulnerable residents’. He added: ‘They relied on her to get through life every single day and she callously took advantage of that.’