Derry carer jailed for robbing nearly £11,000 from two pensioners

 

A 25-year-old Derry woman has been jailed for stealing almost £11,000 from two ‘elderly and vulnerable’ women she was caring for.
Danielle McDermott who now has an address in Belfast admitted three changes of theft, fraud by false representation and converting criminal property in 2013 and 2014.
The court was told McDermott was a career and called twice a day with one woman Dinah Porter.
Mrs. Porter became suspicious that her money was going very fast and mentioned her suspicions to her daughter.
On one occasion in October 2013 her daughter gave Mrs. Porter more than £200 just before McDermott’s visit. After the carer had left only £40 was left on Mrs. Porter’s purse.
The family marked notes and set up a mobile phone camera.
After £60 was found to be missing the footage on the phone showed the defendant going through the women’s handbag.
Police were called and a marked note was found on McDermott who denied stealing it but said she had taken it to buy food for Mrs. Porter.
McDermott was suspended and an investigation started into other clients.
It was found that one client a 75-year-old woman suffering from dementia was found to have had more than £10,000 taken from her account.
In August 2013 the woman had approximately £11,000 in her account and by April 2014 there was £474.
It was found that McDermott had used the women’s debit card details on 29 occasions.
All the money was spent on the defendant and her boyfriend who knew nothing about its origins.
The judge concluded: “This sort of conduct is in stark contrast to the very good and necessary work carried out by those thousands of caters who are honest and caring.
“There is no doubt in my mind that this is very serious, mean and nasty offending and it is the sort of offending that has to be deterred by the imposition of an immediate custodial sentence. ”
McDermott was sentenced to 9 months in prison.