A fraudster carer has avoided jail after conning more than £10,000 from her blind disabled client.

Kelly Hughes, 46, was a team leader at Folkestone’s Brampton Lodge when she betrayed Gwendeline Gould, a resident in her 80s.

‘Gwen’ alerted managers after mystifying transfers appeared on bank statements - cash withdrawals for £500, phone bills, clothes and Paypal payments.

She noticed transactions for a silver memorial urn, floral dress and denim skirt appear, alongside subscription payments to a service called ‘Truthfinder.’

Truthfinder is a background check and public records search service.

She was caught after police raided her home and found evidence of suspicious transactions, including cash payments to men in the United States.

Judge Catherine Brown told Hughes elderly people deserve to be well-cared for with dignity.

“She was in her 80s, and she trusted you because she had poor eyesight, she had to rely on those who were caring for her and you betrayed that trust,” she said.

Hughes, who was fired from her job and since lived on benefits, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by abuse of position at a previous hearing.

On Friday she was jailed for two years suspended for two years after showing “genuine remorse” and “a real prospect of rehabilitation.”

Ms Gould, who hadn’t left the home for months, became close friends with Hughes in 2019 and “trusted her implicitly,” prosecutor Paul Valder explained.

She relied on Hughes to shop for groceries after becoming immobile and read her mail after losing her eyesight.

But between January and August Hughes was siphoning substantial amounts of money.

“In total just over £10,000 had been misappropriated from the two accounts,” Mr Valder added.

Denying fraud, Hughes told police and her bosses she made a mistake after mixing up accounts and would pay the money back, but it never came.

Mitigating, her barrister said Hughes suffered the loss of her mother and husband the same year and her actions stemmed from desperation after falling behind with bills.

Hughes, of George Gurr Crescent, Folkestone, was ordered to complete 150 hours unpaid work and 30 rehabilitation requirement days.

Ms Gould has since recovered the majority of the stolen money via her bank.

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