A woman stole thousands of pounds for a vulnerable pensioner with Parkinson's while she was her carer.
Nicola Brimage, 32, took nearly £6,000 from a 78-year-old woman with Parkinson's while she was caring for her, leaving the pensioner "devastated" and in her overdraft, Liverpool Echo reports.
Brimage spent the money on Amazon, eBay and PayPal, stealing from her victim more than 300 times and flagrantly using her own name and email address to make the purchases.
During a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court yesterday (Tuesday, March 8) Brimage said she "couldn't stop" and "just kept on spending" the money of her victim, who was housebound.
When a victim impact statement was read in court, Brimage was brought to tears.
Paul Blasbery, prosecuting, said: "The victim said she placed a lot of trust in Nicola. She liked her, respected her, and appreciated the things she had done for her. When she found out Nicola had stolen all this money from her, she was devastated.
"She thought she could trust Nicola and her other carers. She was embarrassed she had been taken for a fool by someone who took advantage of her vulnerability."
Mr Blasbery added: "She said she once lent Nicola £50, when she said she was short of cash. Instead of appreciating the gesture, she took advantage of her."
Quoting the victim, he told the court: "If Nicola had needed money she just had to ask me. She didn't need to steal from me.
"I feel taking advantage of elderly people is cruel and as low as it gets."
The court heard Brimage had started helping the victim with shopping, who in turn provided her cash card and PIN and trusted her to visit ATMs and withdraw cash – despite the fact it was against the rules of the care agency Brimage worked for.
The thefts, which took place between February 2021 and July 2021, were exposed when NatWest contacted the woman to say she had gone into her overdraft.
Officers investigating the crime spoke to Amazon, eBay and PayPal, where Brimage had spent the money, and discovered the woman had used her own name and email account when making £5,948.50 of purchases.
The prosecution confirmed the items Brimage had purchased were not "essential items for living" and were "general household goods and effectively some luxury items".
"She stated she didn't realise how much she had spent. She said she just kept on spending," Blasbery said, before confirming 'thankfully' NatWest had reimbursed the unlucky victim in full.
Brimage had no previous convictions.
Ben Berkson, defending, said: "Nothing I will say will underplay the greedy and callous crime here."
However he went on to describe Brimage as a young, bright woman who had spent a lot of her adult life 'dutifully caring for the vulnerable', and that she had been at 'a very low point' last year.
The defence said, in mitigation, that Brimage had demonstrated previous good character, and had suffered at the hands of an abusive previous partner, as well as being diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
He said Brimage was on benefits after losing jobs with two care agencies, being dismissed from one after she was declared unfit to work.
The judge, Recorder Michael Blakey, said to Brimage: "She trusted you as a person who would do your best to help her and certainly not steal anything from her."
Brimage was ultimately sentenced to a 12-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with a 15-day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and 80 hours of unpaid work.
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