A woman in charge of vulnerable people’s finances has been jailed after abusing her position to steal more than £55,000 directly from residents’ bank accounts
Keely Coleman, 48, from Bilsthorpe in Nottinghamshire, pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud by abuse of position and one of false accounting before being jailed for two years and seven months at Nottingham Crown Court on 20 August.
Coleman worked at the Old Vicarage care home in Ollerton as a manager between December 2020 and October 2023 where she cared for adults with complex special needs who were unable to manage their own finances.
As a result of internal changes in the care home, in 2022 Coleman took responsibility for managing their bank accounts but no further control checks were implemented.
The care home manager resigned in October 2023 and shortly after this staff became suspicious about how she had managed the care home’s finances. Staff reported Coleman to Nottingham Police’s fraud team.
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It was discovered Coleman had access to two company bank cards as well as cards belonging to care home residents, along with their pins. All of the cards were kept in safes on the care home premises.
There was a ‘massive shortfall in spending’ said Nottingham Police, as they found more money was being withdrawn from cash machines than there were residents.
One resident could not afford to buy themselves new clothes and a member of staff had to give them old children’s clothing instead, all while Coleman was spending their money on herself.
Coleman drained the bank account of one resident by £4,000 and just £1,680 was received by the resident.
Detective Constable Shaun Healy, of Nottinghamshire Police, said:
Coleman was placed into a position of trust to look after people with severe and complex needs. They were unable to look after their own finances and she was trusted to ensure they had everything they needed. Coleman instead withdrew cash and then deposited it in her own accounts. It was a despicable and cynical fraud against a group of very vulnerable people. She started by taking small amounts but this increased as time went on. I’m grateful to other members of staff for raising their suspicions and for their assistance during the investigation. This case is another reminder that Nottinghamshire Police takes fraud and financial abuse extremely seriously and will take robust action against those who commit such offences. We are more than willing to devote hours of meticulous detective work to ensure they are brought to justice.Detective Constable Shaun Healy, of Nottinghamshire Police
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