County Derry care worker who defrauded bed-bound pensioner sentenced

A County Derry care worker who defrauded a bed-bound pensioner out of more than £3,000 after stealing her bank card, has been sentenced at a local court.

Samantha Noble of Glack Mor, Limavady, appeared before the town's magistrates court, sitting in Coleraine, today (Wednesday) to face ten charges of fraud by false representation and two charges of attempted fraud by false representation.

The 31 year-old mother-of-three was further charged with theft.

The court heard that the offences were committed between November 5 and November 7 2023.

An earlier court hearing was told that Noble's victim was a 77 year-old pensioner 'who was bed bound and still is bed bound'.

The court heard that over the course of two days, Noble made 33 transactions using the stolen bank card.

These transactions were made both instore and online at retailers including Boots, Sally Beauty and Moran's Supermarket as well as Amazon and PayPal.

ATM transactions were also made by Noble.

The court was told that the transactions amounted to £3,501.95.

Following a report from the injured party, police attended Ulster Bank in Limavady and also viewed CCTV from various retail premises which allowed them to identify Noble from the footage.

When arrested for the offences, Noble produced the stolen bank card and pin from her purse and handed it over to police.

The court heard that the defendant also made full admissions during interview.

Noble's barrister, Sinéad Rogan said that a doctor's report, which was before the court, indicated that her client had been suffering from postpartum depression at the time of the offences.

She went on to say that Noble had enjoyed working in her job and had 'very positive things to say about the injured party in the case'.

Ms Rogan stated that since committing the offences, Noble and her partner have separated and she has been 'isolated by many members of her family'.

“It's had a detrimental effect on her life,” continued Ms Rogan, adding that her client had also attempted suicide.

The court heard that Noble has shown 'high levels of remorse' and had sold her car and wedding dress, which was of high sentimental value, to gather up £3,500 in compensation.

During sentencing, District Judge Peter King told Noble that he had 'digested' a number of documents ahead of sentencing, including the pre-sentence report, papers in the case and the doctor's report.

He said it was a case where the most likely disposal was custody however he felt that compensation and an enhanced combination order would do justice.

Judge King sentenced Noble to an enhanced combination order of 90 hours community service and 12 months' probation.

In addition, he ordered her to pay compensation of £3,501.95 to the victim.