Jailed: 'Evil' carer from Telford stole thousands of pounds from dementia sufferer
A live-in carer from Telford who plundered thousands of pounds from a dementia sufferer she was looking after has been jailed for 20 months.
Susan Kettley paid her car insurance from the coffers of elderly professor Maria Hayward and applied for a £10,000 loan in her name.
Kettley, of Ashley Court, took more than £17,000 pounds from her victim. The 61-year-old took the money during the four months she had been tasked to cook, clean and carry out everyday jobs for the Brazilian-born 73-year-old.
“She’s an evil, evil person,” said Mrs Hayward’s daughter Nalu, speaking after the sentencing on Tuesday.
“I didn’t want any mercy shown towards her because I don’t believe she will ever change.
“This woman has no shame. She started working for us right at end of October [last year] and within just nine days she was already stealing from my mother.
“She set up a direct debit from my mum’s bank account to pay for her Direct Line car insurance and used my name to transfer money form her account to Africa through MoneyGram.
“She was so blatant and had no shame whatsoever.”
Kettley was recommended to her through a work colleague who knew she worked for a couple of agencies and, desperate for a carer, the 39-year-old welcomed her with open arms.
The fraud came to light at the end of January when Miss Hayward, who regularly transferred money to her mother, telephoned the bank only to be told the account was heavily overdrawn.
“At first I didn’t realise it was her (Kettley) and assumed there was some other problem,” she explained.
“(Kettley) was just so lovely and softly-spoken, I just couldn’t believe it. Even when my mum had gone into hospital with a urinary tract infection she would say ‘Let me help you out with the house’.
“I thought she was trying to be helpful but I now know she just wanted to get back in the house to get the paperwork for her loans that she had had sent there.”
Such was Kettley’s deception that she turned the daughter against her mother, who worked as a carer herself after retiring from teaching English, Portuguese and Italian.
Miss Hayward continued: “My mum kept saying that Sue kept taking her bag and I assumed it was the dementia and had to say ‘No mum, don’t be silly’.
“She made me not believe my own mum and I’m going to have to forever live with that guilt now.”
Kettley started working for and living with the woman in October 2016 and was arrested by Thames Valley Police in August this year.
She admitted one charge of theft and four counts of fraud by false representation between November 2016 and February 2017 and was sentenced at Amersham Crown Court.
Detective Constable Lynda Stearman said: “Kettley was in a position of trust as the carer for a vulnerable victim. She abused this position of trust.
“Kettley started working for victim in October 2016.
“The agreement was that Kettley would live at victim’s home in Beaconsfield where she would look after the victim, carrying out tasks such as cooking and cleaning.
“The defendant stole £17,109.55 from the victim, and obtained a £10,000 loan and also attempted to obtain a credit card in the victim’s name but thankfully the credit card application was declined by the bank because of an error with the victim’s date of birth.
“However, Kettley did successfully apply for another credit card in the name of the victim and paid for her car insurance with the victim’s money.
“I hope that this investigation serves as a reminder to anyone who is planning to defraud another, especially a vulnerable victim, that you will be caught and jailed.”