A carer who breached the trust of a dementia sufferer “in the most callous way” by stealing £3,000 from him has been told she only narrowly avoided going to prison.
Michelle Felber, 51, took the vulnerable pensioner’s bank card to buy groceries but neglected to return it to him.
Instead, she used it 13 times to withdraw the man’s savings at cash machines across Aberdeen and Portlethen.
By the time Felber was caught, she had drained the OAP’s account of £3,000 – which she has not yet repaid.
It was stated that her 25-year career as a carer now lies in tatters, with Felber “at a loss” to explain why she did it.
Sheriff Rory Bannerman told Felber that she had come “as close as anyone can come” to going to prison.
‘Unusual activity’ on victim’s account
Fiscal depute Sophia Ramzan told Aberdeen Sheriff Court the victim was diagnosed with dementia and mobility issues and needed help from a carer.
Around 9.30am on December 6 last year, the pensioner was at home when he received a visit from his carer service.
After initially carrying out her duties, Felber was presented with the 72-year-old’s debit card so she could shop for his groceries.
“The accused did this for him and returned to the locus with the groceries and left without returning the bank card,” Ms Ramzan explained.
“At around 4.30pm on the same day, another carer arrived at the locus to carry out her duties.
“The complainer advised this carer that he did not have his bank card and that he had provided it to the accused who he believed had his card.”
Felber seen on CCTV
On December 19 2023, the victim received a call from the Bank of Scotland warning of unusual activity on his account and cancelled the card.
The elderly gentleman repeated his concern about Felber’s possession of the card, and the police were then contacted.
Officers arrived at the man’s home on December 22 when they learned of the situation.
It was established that the card had been used 13 times to withdraw £2,947 from cash machines in Aberdeen and Portlethen.
CCTV camera footage later revealed that Felber was behind the withdrawals and she was cautioned and arrested.
In the dock, Felber pled guilty to stealing a bank card from a vulnerable person while in her position of trust.
‘Disgusted’
Defence solicitor Paul Barnett told the court that his client was “devastated to find herself in court over this matter”.
He added: “This was a significant breach of trust towards a vulnerable person”.
He said his client was “struggling” at that time due to the death of her mother.
“Mrs Felber is disgusted with what she did,” he said. “She is confident she can make a full repayment of the money from her parents’ estate.”
Sheriff Bannerman told an emotional Felber that she was “as close as anyone can come to going to jail” over what she did.
“It’s quite incredible that someone in your position of trust could do this – you knew this man,” he said.
“This was somebody’s father and you still decided to steal from him.
“You were the one who was supposed to care for him, but you breached that trust in the most callous way.”
Sheriff Bannerman told Felber that he noted she had no previous convictions, adding: “That’s what saves you from custody and only that.”
As an alternative to custody, Sheriff Bannerman sentenced Felber, of Thistle Drive, Portlethen, to a community payback order with supervision for two years and ordered her to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered her to repay her victim in full by making a compensation order for £2,947.
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