Social services had ‘no record’ of care home warning as Graham Carr stole Hull aunt’s savings

SOCIAL workers who failed to take action to stop a man stealing his aunt’s life-savings say they were not aware a complaint had been made.

Graham Keith Carr, 64, ordered nursing home staff at Berkeley House in north Hull to stop paying for his 91-year-old aunt’s haircuts and chiropody treatment so he could steal money from her bank account over three years.

He stole almost £20,000, despite staff at the care home alerting social services to multiple rogue payments going out of her bank account last May.

No action was taken and, in the meantime, Carr demanded that haircuts and chiropody treatment for his aunt should be stopped to ensure there was more money in her account for him to steal.

The staff were so concerned they contacted social services again six months later to see why they had taken no action and this time involved the police.

However, Angela Dunn, city adult social care manager, claims the council has no record of receiving a complaint.

She said: “Hull City Council has no records of a safeguarding alert made by the home in May 2011, but we can confirm we were approached in November last year when a joint investigation with Humberside Police started.

“This became a formal police investigation, which resulted in Carr’s prosecution. While this investigation was ongoing, we continued to monitor the care given to his aunt.

“We take any concerns raised by care home or family members seriously and take appropriate action as necessary.”

Carers became aware of the missing money when they opened the elderly woman’s post and discovering the transactions on her bank statement from cash point withdrawals.

However, Carr’s aunt suffers from dementia and requires 24 hour care and could not have left the home so was not capable of spending the money herself.

A judge at Hull Crown Court has taken the unusual step of jailing Carr, the full-time carer of his blind wife, for 12 months for his “mean-spirited” crime.

Carr, who worked for 16 years at the Metal Box Company in Hull before retiring, claimed he stole the money to stop his inheritance being swallowed up by care home fees of £2,200 a month.

Carr, of St Leonard’s Road, west Hull, pleaded guilty at Hull Crown Court to one count of theft between January 2009 to November last year and has been jailed for 12 months.

He withdrew £15,560 from cash machines around the city and spent £3,823.97 in various stores.

Judge David Tremberg told him: “You were her nephew and next-of-kin and she was a 91-year-old lady, suffering from dementia, who had entrusted you with the care of her bank savings.

“In a mean-spirited way, you complained to the care home that your aunt shouldn’t have so many haircut appointments and she couldn’t have a series of chiropody appointments and, meanwhile, you were filling your pockets with her money.

“These were thefts when you were in a significant degree of trust.”