An Angus support worker who used her vulnerable client’s bank card to steal almost £10,000 from ATMs has been told her offending would “ordinarily attract” imprisonment.
But Quenta Duguid was narrowly spared jail time after she admitted making unauthorised withdrawals totalling £9,999 over a nine-month period.
Hillcrest Futures employee Duguid, 53, had implemented a secure policy for the vulnerable woman’s card after suspicions arose it may have been being used without permission.
However, on more than 50 occasions, she used the card herself to steal money through ATM withdrawals around Montrose.
After admitting the offence in August, Duguid was sentenced to unpaid work and reprimanded for breaching the trust of a vulnerable person.
‘Ordinarily’ would attract jail
At a hearing in August, staff member Duguid admitted stealing £9,999 from ATMs in Montrose on various occasions between July 2020 and March 2021.
Initially, she was alleged to have stolen £11,680.
Duguid, of Christie’s Lane in Montrose, returned to the dock at Forfar Sheriff Court to be sentenced after two separate criminal justice social work reports had been compiled.
Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown ordered Duguid to complete 270 hours of unpaid work over the next two years – something the court heard the thief flagged concerns about to social workers.
Duguid was told if the order is breached, the alternative is imprisonment.
The sheriff said: “I take account in particular that you’re a first offender.
“The offence that you committed was a breach of trust involving a vulnerable person so it very much is an alternative to custody.
“Ordinarily, this would attract a custodial sentence.”
Suspicious statement
Hillcrest Futures is a registered charity which works throughout Scotland offering support to vulnerable people.
At a previous hearing, fiscal depute Calum Gordon told the court Duguid worked as a support worker for Hillcrest Futures and her victim was a client who has mental health issues, receiving daily support.
Mr Gordon explained each Tuesday, a support worker would take the woman to the Bank of Scotland branch on Montrose High Street to withdraw money.
The transaction, usually for £185, was completed with a signed withdrawal slip as she did not have the capacity to use an ATM or recall a PIN.
However, at an earlier stage it was believed another support worker was using the woman’s bank card without permission.
Duguid herself implemented a secure system for the card, keeping it in an envelope in an unlocked office filing cabinet.
Another support worker took the client to the bank in March 2021 and was handed a statement which sparked suspicion.
Paperwork was examined and CCTV was reviewed.
Duguid had made 56 withdrawals using the card from ATMs around Montrose.
On 36 of those occasions, she was on the charity rota to be working with her victim.
Paperwork showed that on a number of occasions, Duguid had signed the bank card out in her own name.
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