Derry woman admits stealing more than £4,000 from an elderly uncle she was helping to care for

A Derry woman was today convicted of stealing £4,700 from an elderly uncle she had been helping to care for.

Rachel Coyle, 33, from Kilburn Crescent, admitted fraudulently cashing cheques in the name of her uncle on three separate occasions in December last year and January of this year.

Derry Magistrates Court was told Coyle had been 'ostracised' by her family following the offences.

A representative for the Public Prosecution Service (PPS) told the court that the offences came to light after the pensioner had noticed a 'substantial' drop in his balance when he received a bank statement.

The bank advised him to speak with his family.

He spoke with his niece, the defendant, and she denied having anything to do with the missing money.

When the man contacted his bank again, he was told to report the fraud to the police.

When police called to the man's house to take a statement, Coyle was in the house and had just admitted to taking the money.

She said she had used his cheque book to cash cheques in her name, one for £714.01, another for £985.20 and one for £3,000.

During interview, Coyle said she had suicidal thoughts and had used the money to pay off her debts and 'sort out her children's Christmas'.

She said her uncle's cheque book had fallen out of the back of her car and she had 'seized' the opportunity and written the cheques in her name.

The PPS representative said the man had been reimbursed by the bank for the money taken due to his status as a 'very loyal customer'.

Coyle's defence barrister, Mark Reel, told the court she had gathered enough money together to repay the money she took.

He said that the money would now have to be given to the bank given that the injured party had been reimbursed.

Mr Reel said a pre-sentence report set out some 'unusual and fairly tragic circumstances' in relation to the defendant but he added that he did not wish to go into those details in open court.

He said Coyle had been the victim of an incident in 2016 after which she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Mr Reel said she was a carer for the injured party and remains 'very fond' of him.

He said that Coyle has been able to gather the money needed to repay her uncle as she had recently received compensation in relation to the 2016 incident.

Mr Reel said that since the recent events, Coyle has been 'ostracised' by her family, a matter which she 'deeply regrets' but does hold against them.

“This is her fault and she accepts that,” he said.

The judge said the court took such 'breaches of trust' very seriously and normally such offences would have resulted in the guilty party being sent to jail.

However, the judge highlighted Coyle's early admission, her previously clear record and the fact that she had gathered the money together to repay the injured party.

Coyle was given a four month prison sentence but the sentence was suspended for two years.