An voluntary worker who stole over £31,000 from her 93-year-old mother, who suffers from dementia, has been sentenced at Arbroath Sheriff Court.
Patricia Stephen (68), of Baillie Norrie Crescent, Montrose, was originally accused of embezzling £31,025 while acting as her mother Mary Christie’s financial and welfare guardian between July 10, 2006 and May 22 last year.
Prior to appearing in the dock on Tuesday she had pled guilty to an alternative charge of stealing the money during that period.
Stephen had withdrawn the funds from her mother’s account to pay off the mortgage on her house and her car loan. Angus Council raised the alarm with Tayside Police after Mrs Christie’s fees at a Kirriemuir nursing home had stopped being paid.
After attending for police interview on a voluntary basis, Stephen admitted using her mother’s money over a three-year period.
Defence agent Paul Cannavan said sentence had been deferred to await the finding of a psychological assessment on the fraudster.
He said, “We now have a flavour of the difficulties Mrs Stephen has faced and it has been a very difficult time for her to appear before the court.
“This offence occurred as a result of severe financial difficulties. Mrs Stephen’s husband lost his job and they went from a comfortable living to being on state benefits.”
Mr Cannavan told the court that, since tendering her guilty plea in September, Stephen had paid off her credit card debt but still had to clear money owed on council tax and mortgage payments.
He added that his client had an “excellent working history” and maintains an interest in a local charity in the Angus area.
Sentencing Stephen, Sheriff Norrie Stein said a jail term would have been “fully justified” but he added, “There are a number of singular aspects to this case the first is your age and the second is that there is no history of offending.”
Stephen was ordered to carry out 160 hours of community service.