Leeds carer spent more than £7,000 using patient’s credit card

A carer who used her patient’s credit card to spend more than £7,000 on takeaways, shopping and gambling has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Sophia Anderson, 39, of Headingley, Leeds, admitted using the card to make purchases through online food delivery service Deliveroo and online marketplaces eBay and Etsy, as well as making two payments to gambling companies.

Leeds Magistrates’ Court heard that the patient noticed the transactions on her bank statement and her bank traced the payments back to Anderson.

Anderson, who has three children, admitted fraud by abuse of position at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to 10 months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

The judge said she had given her credit for her guilty plea, but that her offending, which took place over a six-month period, had been “deliberate and sustained”.

The court heard the victim was in poor physical health, spent significant periods in hospital and needed carers.

She noticed a gambling company listed on her credit card statement and knew the transaction was not hers.

A review of her statements with police identified fraudulent transactions totalling £7,153.20.