Gambling addict care home manager stole £100,000 from elderly resident to fund casino 'double life' he hid from family
Addict: Imran Ahmed, 39, has been jailed for three years
after stealing £100,000 from Audrey Green at a care home
that he managed in Beeston, Nottingham
- Imran Ahmed, 39, stole the huge sum from 80-year-old Audrey Green
- He took £58,000 in cash and £43,000 in cheques over five-year period
- Ahmed's family owned the Lilac House Care Home in Beeston, Nottingham
- Father-of-two described as having 'pathological addiction' that he hid
A prolific gambler stole more than £100,000 from an elderly resident at the care home he managed in order to fund his secret addiction.
Imran Ahmed admitting stealing the money from an account belonging to 80-year-old Audrey Green, a resident at the Lilac House Care Home in Beeston, Nottingham.
The 39-year-old used the money to fund 'a double life' of casinos and horse racing.
The father-of-two, whose family owned the care home, was jailed for three years at Nottingham Crown Court.
Over the course of five years, Ahmed siphoned over £100,000 from the resident's account without her knowledge.
He used the money to pay for his addiction, which his family was unaware of, as he spun a web of lies to hide his financial affairs.
Ahmed was well thought of in the nursing profession, having obtained his diploma in 1997, but he began gambling at university and it had become 'a pathological addiction'.
He made cash withdrawals from ATMs using Mrs Green’s debit card which was kept, along with her personal identification number, in a safe at the care home.
Prosecutor Esther Harrison said Ahmed would use the card to withdraw between £150 and £300 at a time, sometimes taking out money more than once a day.
Ahmed, who appeared in the dock wearing a grey wool jacket and white shirt, also stole the resident’s chequebook.
Mrs Harrison told the court he stole £58,000 in cash and some £43,000 in cheques from Mrs Green’s account.
The theft only came to light when the care home closed in 2011.
Mrs Green was described as a 'vulnerable woman' who 'lacked confidence and was not financially aware'.
Vulnerable: Ahmed stole the money using the woman's debit card and chequebook when she was staying at Lilac House Care Home in Beeston, Nottingham, which his family owned
The court heard how Ahmed was attracted by the thrill of the gambling lifestyle and being 'with the high rollers'.
Judge Michael Stokes said: 'Those who take advantage of the elderly are the worst sort in my view.'
Ahmed looked down in the dock as Mr Stokes sentenced him to three years in prison, of which he will serve half before being eligible for release.
Mr Stokes added: 'Audrey Green, who is now 80, was living at Lilac House. She was under your care and she was vulnerable. She had little financial know how and I have no doubt she must have appeared to you an easy target.
Jailing Ahmed, the judge said his behaviour was as 'gross a breach of trust as it is possible to imagine'.
He said: 'Elderly vulnerable people are regrettably far too often the target of fraudsmen and the court has got to make it plain that anyone who takes part in this deliberate behaviour will be severely punished.
'You had an extensive and long-standing gambling addiction which a report tells me has been the driver of your offending. Doubtless it was but that in reality it amounts to little in mitigation.'
Defending Ahmed, Mr Philip Bown said: 'This was a man being driven to distraction by the pathological addiction to gambling. It was running his life.
Addict: Imran Ahmed, 39, has been jailed for three years after stealing £100,000 from Audrey Green at a care home that he managed in Beeston, Nottingham
He said his client was full of remorse and that gambling now 'sickens' his client. Ahmed apologised to Mrs Green’s family in the dock before he was convicted.
He said: 'I want to publicly apologise to Mrs Green and her friends for the pain and hardship that I have caused them.'
The Nursing and Midwifery Council has been made aware of the proceedings, the court heard.
Mr Stokes said Ahmed would never work in the care profession again.
Th crime came to light when the home announced its closure and friends of Mrs Green were told there was insufficient funds to pay for her care.
Janet and Paul Boothroyd, of Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, looked at Mrs Green’s bank statements and noticed the money had been taken from her account.
The couple, who have known Mrs Green for 15 years contacted Barclays bank and Social Services who launched an investigation and urged them to alert the police.
Speaking after the sentencing today, Mrs Boothroyd said: 'It’s been a two-year struggle to get it here for her and I’m a bit disappointed with three years.'
'Whether he stole the money for gambling or whatever it doesn’t matter. The fact of the matter remains that he stole money from a vulnerable, old woman. She went into the home just before her husband’s death five or six years ago. I think they’d been married for some 25 years.'
Mrs Boothroyd said Barclays had been very understanding and had returned £96,000 to Mrs Green.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2260960/Gambling-addict-care-home-manager-Imran-Ahmed-stole-100-000-elderly-resident-fund-casino-double-life-hid-family.html#ixzz2HlkrSwId
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