Mexborough care worker 'gambled away clients' cash'

A CARER could face jail after plundering the bank accounts of elderly clients to blow thousands of pounds on gambling.Tracy Karen Grimshaw (45), pleaded guilty to theft and obtaining by deception and sentence was adjourned for a psychiatric report.Grimshaw

A CARER could face jail after plundering the bank accounts of elderly clients to blow thousands of pounds on gambling.

Tracy Karen Grimshaw (45), pleaded guilty to theft and obtaining by deception and sentence was adjourned for a psychiatric report.

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Grimshaw preyed on two elderly women, Emily Madden (90) and Phyllis Lindley (95) who she cared for in their own homes while she worked for the charity Sue Ryder Care in Mexborough.

Doncaster Crown Court heard that when she was arrested Grimshaw had admitted that she had “blown” more than £18,000.

The theft from Mrs Madden was discovered when other Sue Ryder staff asked why the pensioner was not paying them for her social care bills.

When they paid her a visit, they were shocked by the conditions she lived in, the court heard last Thursday.

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Mrs Madden had very little food in the fridge, minimal furniture and threadbare clothing.

Grimshaw, of Windmill Crescent, Mexborough, had cashed 49 cheques from Mrs Madden’s bank account and had obtained more than £10,300 between October 2005 and January 2007.

She told police that she had done it because she was depressed and had turned to gambling “to get a buzz.”

Grimshaw admitted that she had “just blown it” and added: “I have to live with it every day. Sometimes I wish I was dead. I’ve done wrong and I’m responsible. I don’t like me as a person because of what I've done. I just feel awful. I’ve let everyone down.”

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Between August 2006 and September 2007 Grimshaw stole £8,230 from Mrs Lindley’s bank account.

She had legal access to the account on Mrs Lindley’s behalf, but continued to draw money when the old lady was in hospital for several months after a fall.

Mrs Lindley now lives in a care home.

Grimshaw later confessed to spending the money on bingo and roulette games.

Grimshaw admitted she had built up a bond with Mrs Lindley who used to tell the defendant she was “the daughter she never had.”

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Grimshaw admitted to theft and obtaining by deception. She was said to be ashamed and remorseful.

She was said to have been grieving the loss of her parents at the time of the offences.

Her grief was said to be the catalyst that led to her gambling addiction, which was at the root of her offending.

 

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