Care assistant stole from vulnerable residents of HSE care home

Defendant used the accounts to pay his Sky and Netflix subscriptions and buy clothes

A care assistant working at a HSE facility in County Meath who stole money from the accounts of vulnerable residents was remanded in custody at Trim Circuit Court.

The court heard the defendant had used the accounts to pay his Sky and Netflix subscriptions and buy clothes and shoes through PayPal.

Fifty one year-old Edwin Gall, Grangerath, Drogheda, pleaded guilty to stealing a total of €22,144 from nine residents of Barden Lodge, Julianstown, on dates between March 2016 and February 2017.

Replying to prosecuting counsel Carl Hanahoe BL a detective garda said the facility caters for 11-13 adult residents with intellectual disabilities providing 24 hour care so the residents could live as full a life as possible.

All the residents have their own bank accounts which are managed by staff on their behalf with their ATM cards kept in a central safe, the garda told the court.

Purchases or cash withdrawals on behalf of the residents are made by staff members who are required to record the transactions on separate expenses sheets for each resident.

Gall had stolen the money from the residents accounts by making withdrawals and entering a lesser amount on the expenses sheets.

In June 2016 a clinical nurse manager noticed that €500 had been withdrawn from the account of one resident and after the size of the withdrawal was spoken about in the house a €500 lodgement was made to the account some days later.

Gall later told the manager there had been a technical issue in the bank but it had been a one-off.

However a further discrepancy was noticed in the same account eight months later and the manager noticed payments had also been made to Sky and Netflix.

A detailed audit of all the residents accounts was then carried out and Gall admitted to a manager that he had been taking money from the accounts for about a year but did not know why he had done so.

A garda investigation identified the amounts taken by cross referencing dates of withdrawals from the accounts with CCTV at the ATMs used.

The defendant a married father of three had made withdrawals at ATMs in Drogheda, Julianstown, Laytown, Dublin, Portrane and Donabate.

The court heard that since the scam had been uncovered the HSE had refunded the residents for their losses.

Victim impact statements from one of the elderly residents and some of the families of the residents highlighted the effect of the breach of trust on them and several also accused the HSE of not taking better care of their relatives finances.

Some said they no longer trusted the HSE to adequately look after their relatives.

Defence barrister Kathleen Leader SC said her client accepted he had been guilty of serious breaches of trust and was remorseful but had no explanation for his actions.

The lawyer added that Gall who had health and other problems was now unemployed and on a disability payment but had borrowed €23,000 in compensation which he repaying.

Judge Martina Baxter who praised the families for their victim impact statements remarked that it was ' a very very egregious matter and a very very sad case for everyone'.

Judge Baxter added she would take time to consider all that had been said and remanded Gall in custody for sentence on 17th November.