Worker's 'web of deceit' in £200k care home theft

A care home worker siphoned more than £200,000 from her employer's accounts in a "complex web of deceit", police have said.

Over a six-year period, Elizabeth Henderson fraudulently paid herself using supplier invoices while working as a finance administrator, at the home off Hockley Road in Uttoxeter, Staffordshire.

On one of many occasions, she transferred £4,000 to her own account under the guise of sending the funds to a care agency used by the home.

The 66-year-old of Westlands Road, Uttoxeter, has now been jailed for two years and six months after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position.

Her underhanded crimes, in which she stole £212,228 using real supplier invoices multiple times, were carried out from January 2018 to April 2024, when she was sacked from the role after her actions came to light.

She was caught when a new member of staff in the finance team carried out checks, and spotted Henderson had made an £800 payment to herself, which she had entitled 'Tesco milk'.

She was handed the prison sentence at Stafford Crown Court.

Investigating officer Martin Ottey of Staffordshire Police, said: "This was a calculated and complex web of deceit from Henderson who was determined to fraudulently garner funds for her own gain.

"Thanks to the immediate investigatory work by the care home and ourselves, we were able to present a full picture of Henderson's offending."

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