Care chiefs stole from dying man

10:51pm Friday 14th March 2008

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TWO care home bosses stole thousands of pounds from a dying resident before going on the run, a court heard.

Partners-in-crime Vaughan Harrison, 50 and Kenneth McLarrie, 37, made frail James Hogan pay £4,000 more than he should have in fees by getting him to sign withdrawals from his bank account.

At Burnley Crown Court the pair, who ran Booth Grange Residential Home in Church Street, Stacksteads, were sentenced to 150 hours community service, a decision that angered an old-people's charity.

Speaking after the case, Geraldine Moore, chief officer of Age Concern Lancashire, said: "This is just appalling. One hundred and fifty hours community service is no fit sentence for this kind of crime.

"This is financial abuse, of the worst kind, of a vulnerable and frail person who was in their care. We have all got a responsibility to protect these kind of people from harm."

She said she hoped that the thefts were "an isolated case" and that Age Concern could work with other agencies to prevent any other similar occurrences.

The court heard that Harrison and McLarrie picked on the pensioner because his relatives were not involved in payments and then put back £1,000 into the victim's account when their crimes were about to be discovered Mr Hogan, 76, passed away shortly afterwards, the court was told, and Harrison and McLarrie went on the run for three years.

McLarrie was only caught when he was arrested over a driving allegation in Weston-Super-Mare. Officers then found the pair were both wanted in Lancashire.

Prosecutors said the defendants went to the Canary Islands after appearing in court in 2004 and police decided the cost to the public purse in extraditing them could not be justified.

The pair, now of The Crescent, Weston-Super-Mare, admitted theft of around £4,300 between September 2001 and March 2003. They were also ordered to pay £2,150 compensation.

Judge Stephen Dodds said the duo's behaviour was "mean-spirited exploitation" but said he would not send them to prison.

Silvia Dacre, prosecuting, said the defendants had been running Booth Grange Residential Home, which is now closed down.

Mr Hogan partly contributed to his own care costs. But although his physical and mental health deteriorated while he was at the home he was still responsible for paying the money himself.

She said McLarrie and Harrison took advantage of him, getting him to sign withdrawal slips and authorities for more cash than he should have paid. The pair chose the victim as no relatives were involved.

Miss Dacre said, in September 2002 an executor of the victim's estate, had a query from Mr Hogan's sister and started to investigate.

She said £1,000 was suddenly paid back into Mr Hogan's account, but his balance was lower than it was expected to be. The victim, who had been in hospital, died the following day.

Miss Dacre said when the pair were interviewed, McLarrie accepted Mr Hogan probably didn't know how much he was signing for. He claimed the £1,000 put back into the victim's account had been left lying around by Mr Hogan.

Harrison told police the financial management of the home had been poor when he and his co-defendant took over the running of it.

He claimed the cash withdrawn covered increased costs and the £1,000 paid back into Mr Hogan's account had been taken out by the victim as spending money.

For Harrison, Michael Lavery said his client, a former nurse and now a shop assistant, had been forced into the position of taking on the stability of the residential home with £60,000 worth of debt.

Mr Lavery said the pair had had to sell their car at auction at one point just to pay wages.

County councillor Jimmy Eaton, who represents Rossendale East, which covers Stacksteads, said: "This just beggars belief really.

"It is very sad, both for this man and his family, because you put your trust in these people when you go into a home."

A spokesman for the Commission for Social Care Improvement confirmed that the home closed down in October 2004.