Edinburgh woman who swindled £30,000 from vulnerable victims to feed gambling habit spared jail
She was placed on a 12 month supervision order.
An Edinburgh charity manager who stole £30,000 from victims suffering from cerebral palsy and multiple sclerosis to feed her online gambling habit has been spared a jail sentence.
Margaret Burnett was employed with the Leonard Cheshire charity when she stole cash from five vulnerable and disabled residents living at a supported accommodation unit in Edinburgh.
The team leader used the victims’ bank cards to raid their accounts and helped herself to a total of £29,900 over a 30-month period.
Burnett, 69, was eventually caught when bank staff spotted “anomalies” on one resident’s account and the police were called in following an internal investigation by charity bosses.
The pensioner pleaded guilty to embezzling the money from the residents between January 2014 and August 2016 when she appeared at Edinburgh’s sheriff court last month.
The Leonard Cheshire charity provides specialist support to disabled people including those with extremely complex care needs.
Following her admission, a charity spokesperson described Burnett’s conduct as “a despicable abuse of trust” and said the organisation had reimbursed all the stolen money.
She returned to the dock for sentencing on Tuesday where lawyer Mr Gilmartin said Burnett has paid all the money back to the charity and had started gambling due to the stresses of the job.
Mr Gilmartin said: “The use of gambling as a release and coping strategy worsened and quickly became a significant problem. The combination of the access to the gambling, the increased stress and personal circumstances, it quickly became an addiction.
“It started with small amounts and she had the genuine belief she could cover the loss quickly and there would be no harm done.”
Sheriff Charles Walls told the OAP, from Granton, Edinburgh, she had carried out “a gross breach of trust” and the offences had “required significant planning and execution”.
Sheriff Walls said: “The adults who you were responsible for, and their families, were entitled to assume you would support and care for these individuals.
“However, between January 2014 and August 2016 you abused your position of trust in a callous and calculated way by withdrawing money from residents’ bank accounts and manipulating residents’ funds.”
Burnett was placed on a 12-month supervision order and will have to remain within her home between 7pm and 7am for six months as part of a restriction of liberty order.
She was also ordered to pay the four victims who are still living £3,000 each in compensation.
Previously the court heard Burnett had worked with the charity at the supported accommodation residential unit in Edinburgh between 2003 and 2016.
Residents had their finances controlled by staff and all transactions from their bank accounts had to be officially logged in a cash book.
Prosecutor Xander van der Scheer told the court one female resident, who has since died, suffered from cerebral palsy, while a second male victim suffered from multiple sclerosis.
Mr van der Scheer said Burnett had taken money from one man while he was bed-bound in hospital and was “physically unable to withdraw the cash”.
Burnett was sacked following a charity investigation and was charged with fraud in November 2019.
A spokesperson for Leonard Cheshire said: “This was a despicable abuse of trust by Ms Burnett, who was suspended and subsequently dismissed by the charity as soon as concerns were raised.
“We expect the highest standards from anyone working for us. All relevant authorities and regulators were informed immediately, including the police who began investigating.
“Scotland management at the time took steps to strengthen financial controls at individual services, with support from an external auditor. All service users who lost money have had this reimbursed by the charity.
“Processes and procedures are in place at all Leonard Cheshire services to minimise the risk of any staff member, however senior, committing this type of crime. The systems we have now are designed to identify suspicious activity far sooner.”
Neil Almond, interim procurator fiscal for Lothian and Borders, said: “Margaret Burnett committed an egregious betrayal of trust. These residents depended on her to play a part in their financial arrangements. But she flagrantly abused her position to use their money for her own benefit.
“Let the public be assured that we take such financial criminality extremely seriously. Those who commit this type of offending will be dealt with robustly by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.”