Shropshire Star

Shropshire care home boss defrauded resident of £3,800

A woman who ran a care home near Oswestry and took more than £3,800 from a resident’s bank account has escaped immediate custody.

Published

Cherie Reynolds had withdrawn cash and used the victim’s bank card to pay for equipment at the Ash Grove Residential Home in St Martins.

At Shrewsbury Crown Court last week, Reynolds was sentenced to 52 weeks in prison, suspended for two years.

The 49-year-old, of Church Lane, St Martins, was also made subject to an overnight curfew, which will last for the next 42 days.

At an earlier hearing she had admitted 12 charges of fraud committed between July 2015 and October 2016.

The court heard a total of £3,850 was taken from the account of Albert Hughes while he was a resident at the home in Church Lane.

Reynolds, who had been responsible for safeguarding Mr Hughes’ financial interests, had admitted making a series of cash withdrawals of between £100 and £300.

She also spent around £2,350 on items for the residential home.

There were three payments of £1,239, £350 and £460 for bedroom and lounge furniture and £298 for garden furniture, including several gnomes.

The court was told that the care home was closed last year and Shropshire Council had found alternative care arrangements for the two remaining residents.