A Montrose carer who used a vulnerable client’s bank card to steal almost £10,000 has been banned from the sector.
Quenta Duguid made unauthorised withdrawals over nine months while employed by Hillcrest Futures.
She had implemented a secure policy for the vulnerable woman’s card after bosses probed whether another employee was using the card fraudulently.
However, she used the card 56 times to steal £9,999 through ATM withdrawals around Montrose between July 2020 and March 2021.
Duguid admitted to the offence at Forfar Sheriff Court in August.
She was narrowly spared jail time and was sentenced to unpaid work in November.
Montrose social worker banned for stealing £10k
At a previous hearing, the court was told Duguid’s victim was receiving daily support for mental health issues.
After an investigation, the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) banned her from working in the care sector.
The SSSC report said: “You have been convicted of a criminal offence relating to stealing a significant amount of money from a vulnerable person.
“Your conduct is extremely serious and constitutes financial abuse and a significant breach of trust.
“Your actions represent conduct which is fundamentally incompatible with the principles of the social service profession.
“Your actions have resulted in significant financial detriment to a service user and represent clear values concerns.”
It added: “Your conduct is dishonest and questions your character and demonstrates a worrying attitude of disregard towards service users’ property and their welfare.
“The offence occurred over a period of time and was deliberate which demonstrates a pattern of behaviour.”
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