Problem of carers taking advantage of vulnerable clients as another carer convicted

In his twilight years the war veteran deserved to be treated with dignity. Instead, blind and suffering from dementia, he was targeted by a callous home help who swindled him out of up to £250,000.

The scale of the fraud perpetrated by cleaner Veronica Robinson was revealed in a court case that ended in her conviction this week. And the 61-year-old’s shocking treatment of her 93-year-old victim highlights a growing menace to the elderly and infirm.

Robinson spun a web of deceit after gaining the trust of her prey. She gradually isolated him from family and friends, before exploiting the ex-serviceman for her own selfish ends.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, served in the Second World War and in civilian life had a successful career as a welder who worked on oil rigs.

He was even awarded an MBE for services to industry. But his deteriorating mental condition meant that in old age he no longer had any notion of the true value of money.

Robinson, who was found guilty at Wolverhampton Crown Court of raiding the veteran’s savings by persuading him to write a cheque for £188,000, will be sentenced next month.

She used the cash to buy a house, later insisting it was a gift. The £8.50 an hour cleaner used a practice known as “grooming” which involves befriending a victim over time.

But her apparent devotion was all a sham and part of a “determined and well-planned” campaign to defraud the vulnerable pensioner, who lives in the Black Country.

The twice-married widower, who served in the North Atlantic during the war, is said to have become “almost besotted” with his helper.

The stepson of her victim told how he once saw her kiss the elderly man on the lips. The confused pensioner bought his cleaner a £1,000 brooch, took her out for expensive meals and agreed to a £10,000 “loan”.

In total about £250,000 was plundered from his savings, it was alleged. But his relative, who lives abroad, told the court: “He did not know the difference between £20,000 and £200,000.”

On one occasion his stepfather had £2,000 in his wallet. During the trial it emerged that Robinson had returned to the UK in late 2011 after spending 37 years in Australia, where she had two short-lived marriages which produced two children, and ran a business devoted to combating the spread of head lice.

She began working for the frail pensioner in 2013 ostensibly as a cleaner but became his unofficial carer even though she had no qualifications for such a role.

Soon she was accompanying him on trips to his bank and driving him about. Robinson, who denied taking advantage of the pensioner, told the court: “He was very charming and we obviously got on. We got closer and became friends. We just clicked. I highly respected him and he highly respected me.”

She claimed he was desperate to stay in his own home and allegations against her came from “spiteful” neighbours. But visitors were shocked by how dirty his place was and described how Robinson controlled him.

As one put it: “She was a cleaner who didn’t clean and a carer who didn’t care.”

Robinson, who also used the name Veronica Sprigg, went to great lengths to ensure her supply of funds continued, including blocking hospital appointments to assess his condition and establishing if his worsening dementia meant he was no longer able to make financial decisions.

Eventually the veteran’s anxious son and stepson, who both live abroad but became concerned during visits to the UK, went to the Court of Protection, which looks after the interests of people with limited mental capacity.

A cap was placed on the amounts he could withdraw, but even then Robinson brazenly contested the decision. Her victim, now 96, has since moved to a care home. The case highlights a growing problem that has been identified by the charity Age UK.

Older people are much more likely to be targeted by scammers, including crooked carers and home helps. Our ageing population, and the associated rise in cases of dementia, is only adding to the crisis.

Some half a million elderly Britons have fallen victim to scams of this type. Yet the cases being uncovered may only be the tip of the iceberg because many victims are either unaware they’ve been duped or are too embarrassed to come forward.

Last year Donna White, 48, was jailed for 10 months after hidden cameras helped prove she had stolen more than £3,000 in cash from her 84-year-old victim’s handbag on more than 60 separate occasions.

White’s victim, Diana Bramall from Barnsley, had treated her to cruises and holidays as a thank you for her help. “Worryingly, there is every reason to suppose that the threat to older people is increasing,” says Age UK’s director Caroline Abrahams.

“The opportunities for fraud have massively expanded recently.” Reforms in pensions, which make it easier to withdraw large lump sums, have led to retirees being singled out, while online banking is much more popular.

The charity wants a National Scams Task Force to tackle the menace. In the UK more than 700,000 pensioners now rely on some form of home help and, as people who live alone are more likely to be caught out, a growing number of families are taking the step of installing hidden cameras in the homes of elderly relatives.

Footage can be viewed online so they can keep an eye out from afar. Most carers do sterling, unsung work and often they are all that stands between a client and a total loss of independence, while enabling them to continue living in their own home. However, the cases involving a few rotten apples are the ultimate betrayal of trust.