A cruel carer siphoned off more than £9,000 from a man with learning difficulties he'd been trusted to look after.
Jeffrey Walker was employed by Lifeways when he was put in charge of caring for the victim and looking after his needs. A court heard that the man's brother put money on a pre-paid Mastercard for Walker to spend on his day-to-day expenses.
However, the sibling became concerned at the amounts Walker was requesting to be put on the card, about £500 every two weeks, and so requested information from the bank about any payments or withdrawals. Newcastle Magistrates' Court was told that it emerged Walker had been siphoning off a large amount of the cash for himself over a 12-month period.
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Walker, 54, of Beacon Drive, Wideopen, has now narrowly avoided being jailed after he pleaded guilty to one count of theft. Instead, he was given a 26-week prison sentence, suspended for two years, and must do 300 hours of unpaid work. He must also pay £9,520 compensation.
Kinglsey Njoku, prosecuting, said the victim and his brother, who had power of attorney, trusted Walker and thought he did a great job prior to him starting to steal the cash on January 16 last year. Over the next 12 months, he helped himself for a total of £9,520. Mr Njoke continued: "Throughout 2021, the defendant was contacting the victim's brother about arrangements.
"The brother of the victim transferred money from his the victim's bank onto a pre-paid Matercard for the defendant to use for the victim. The defendant requested £500 every couple of weeks, which was for the victim's life expenses."
The court heard that the victim's sibling started to get suspicious in December 2021 and asked the bank to look into the usage of the pre-paid card. It was then that Walker's deceit was unveiled and he was reported to his employers, Lifeways, who then phoned the police.
Magistrates heard that Lifeways had reimbursed the victim, so Walker now owed them any compensation. In a statement, the victim's brother said: "I trusted Mr Walker implicitly and I was gobsmacked when I was told he had been stealing from from [his brother]. I liked him and believed him to be a good carer for my brother."
Gregg Stephens, defending, said Walker had never been in trouble before and had started stealing the money out of desperation when he hit financial difficulties because of an ex-partner. Mr Stephens added: "He had become involved in a relationship with a man who was clearly not a suitable partner for him.
"He was extremely controlling and took control of his bank account and fleeced him for everything and then dumped him. It left him in a complete mess, financially."
The court was told that Walker was "mortified" by his behaviour and fully accepted what he did was wrong.
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