Carer stole £33,000 life savings from vulnerable 90-year-old widow and blew most of it on 'rubbish jewellery' advertised on TV shopping channel

  • Linda Greenacre spent £26,300 on jewellery from a TV shopping channel
  • Police recovered 'rubbish jewellery' from her house valued at only £200
  • Greenacre cashed 64 cheques and made 36 cash withdrawals over two years
  • She was jailed for 18 months by Norfolk Crown Court after admitting theft

By DARREN BOYLE

Published: | Updated:


Linda Greenacre, pictured, received an 18-month jail sentence after admitting stealing £33,000 from a 90-year-old widow she was caring for

Linda Greenacre, pictured, received an 18-month jail sentence after admitting stealing £33,000 from a 90-year-old widow she was caring for

A carer stole £33,300 life savings from a frail 90-year-old widow she was supposed to be looking after - and blew most of it on 'rubbish jewellery' advertised on a TV channel.

Linda Greenacre, 55, from Kings Lynn paid 64 cheques totalling £26,300 into her account from the victim's after forging her signature.

She also made 36 cash withdrawals to the value of £7,000 from her victim's bank card over the period of two years.

Norwich Crown Court heard that Greenacre used £20,276 to buy 477 items of jewellery from a television shopping channel.

Officers who raided Greenacre's house recovered some of the purchased jewellery which was worth only £200.

Greenacre was jailed for 18 months yesterday after admitting theft.

The court heard that Greeacre stole the money as she always had to 'scrimp and save and wanted some nice things for herself'.

Greenacre, of King's Lynn, stole the money between March 10, 2012 and January 1 this year.

Kevin Eastwick, prosecuting, said Greenacre was caught when her victim, who relies on carers to help her every day, got a letter from her bank warning her account was overdrawn.

Mr Eastwick said the vulnerable pensioner had impaired speech and hearing and could not leave her home by herself.

As her carer, Greenacre had access to her bank card and cheque book and would take her to the bank once a month to cash a cheque for necessities.

The victim never used a cashpoint as she was too 'scared', the court heard.

Police seized a lot of jewellery when they searched Greenacre's home but it was only worth about £200.

Judge Katherine Moore, sitting at Norwich Crown Court, pictured, told Greenacre that her 'particularly mean spell of offending' meant she had to go straight to prison

Judge Katherine Moore, sitting at Norwich Crown Court, pictured, told Greenacre that her 'particularly mean spell of offending' meant she had to go straight to prison

Neil Guest, defending, said: 'Although she committed the most mean of offences possible she's not a clever defendant and it was unsophisticated in its execution.

'She's remorseful.

'I cannot answer why she wasted the money she took on this rubbish jewellery.

'We asked for a psychiatric report as there is clearly something behind what why she did it, but don't know what.'

Judge Katharine Moore told Greenacre that her 'particularly mean spell of offending' meant that she had to go straight to jail.

The victim was too unwell to attend court.

The devastated victim, who lives on her own in a council flat in King's Lynn, Norfolk, said last night: 'She did wrong. Maybe this will teach her a lesson.'

But her niece and nephew, Anita and Raymond Elmore, who are her only relatives, travelled to Norwich from their home in St Neots, Cambs, to witness the sentencing hearing.

Mrs Elmore said afterwards: 'Eighteen months is not enough for the amount of money she took.

'We're just devastated by what happened.

'My aunt is such a kind and caring person.

'She and my uncle, who died about four years ago, had deliberately saved for their old age - and then this woman takes their money.'

Det Con Bridget Milne, of Norfolk Police adult abuse investigation unit, said last night: "'This theft took place over a prolonged period and saw Linda Greenacre take advantage of an elderly lady whom she was trusted to care for.

'Her actions were calculated, deceitful and purely for her own personal gain.'

She added: 'The majority of the money stolen was spent on jewellery.

'Over and above the financial impact of her crime is the emotional distress caused to this vulnerable and trusting elderly lady who had known Greenacre for over six years.'

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