Care home thief to repay £37,000 (From Durham Times)

Care home thief to repay £37,000

2:53pm Friday 21st August 2009 in News

A CARE home administrator who stole more than £60,000 to live a life of luxury must pay back £37,767 of her ill-gotten gains.

The confiscation order was made against Julie Elizabeth Everett, 51, at Durham Crown Court, who was jailed for 15 months in April after admitting two charges of theft during a six-year period while working at St Mary’s Nursing Home, in Church Chare, Chester-le-Street. She was initially charged with theft of £73,638, but the prosecution accepted her guilty pleas to stealing £60,385.

The court heard she used her position overseeing finances at the home to pocket relatives’ cash payments to meet residents’ fees and pocket-money.

Of the repayments, the court was told £767 will come from a frozen bank account, with about £2,000 from the sale of a car, while the remaining £35,000 will be met from a re-mortgaging of her home.

She must pay within six months, or risk an extra 15 months in prison.