Carnforth carer escapes jail after stealing thousands of pounds from elderly couple

A woman who abused her position as a carer to steal thousands of pounds from an elderly couple has been given a two year suspended jail sentence.
STOCK PHOTO: A young carer walking with an elderly woman.STOCK PHOTO: A young carer walking with an elderly woman.
STOCK PHOTO: A young carer walking with an elderly woman.

Amanda Sharpe, 51, of The Roods in Warton, was sentenced at Burnley Crown Court on April 10, having previously pleaded guilty to stealing £20,000 from Darwin and Alice Evans, also from Warton.

She stole the money while working as a carer for Mr Evans, after being given access to his bank accounts to help pay bills for him and Mrs Evans, who had moved to a nearby care home.

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Although Mr Evans paid Sharpe every month by cheque, and had previously bought her a car, she took money from the couple’s joint savings accounts.

The fraudulent activity on these accounts occurred between January 2014 and June 2017.

Sharpe’s crimes were uncovered when family members of Mr and Mrs Evans opened bank statements for them and noticed the balances were wrong.

Sadly both Mr and Mrs Evans died before seeing Sharpe brought to justice.

Mr Evans was 96 and Mrs Evans was 95.

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DC Ben Benter, of Lancaster CID, said: “Mr Evans was living alone, visually impaired and suffering with mobility issues, and he put complete trust in Sharpe to care for him in his final years.

“She abused that trust and in the process helped herself to a large portion of the savings that both Mr and Mrs Evans had worked hard throughout their lives to put aside.

“Sadly Mr Evans passed away at the end of 2017 and Mrs Evans passed away in April 2018, so they were unable to see Sharpe brought to justice, but I hope their family are able to take some crumb of comfort from the fact that she has now been dealt with by the courts.”

The family of Mr and Mrs Evans said: “Darwin and Alice were defrauded by someone they trusted and whom they believed had their best interests at heart.

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“The way Amanda Sharpe treated them is utterly disgusting and I hope she is deeply ashamed of her actions.

“Darwin was hurt and devastated by this and lived his last few months in turmoil.”

Sharpe was handed a two year suspended jail sentence, a six month curfew and must carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

She will now be subject to Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) confiscation proceedings in an attempt to recover the monies stolen.

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