Northamptonshire care boss stole £250,000 from vulnerable residents to pay for gambling addiction

A care home manager who looked after vulnerable residents stole more than £250,000 from them to pay for his gambling addiction.

Benjamin Howard, 35, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Northampton Crown Court after admitting fraud by abuse of position.

For nearly three years between September 2017 and August 2020, while in charge of five care facilities in the county, Howard laundered funds through bank transfers via his own five personal accounts and those of residents.

His offending was only discovered after a resident requested access to their funds, which prompted him to resign and on 20 September 2020, Howard, of Breach Close, Brixworth, was arrested on suspicion of fraud after handing himself into Northamptonshire Police.

Howard used residents; bank cards held at the care home to withdraw money from ATMs and pretended to be them to access and make changes to their accounts.

He also bypassed company policies and informed their next of kins that he was the person to go to concerning financial queries and created bogus trips and events to collect funds from them.

When detectives interviewed him, Howard showed remorse and told officers that he regretted his actions and claimed that he had a gambling addiction and had stolen the money to pay off his debts which had spiralled out of control, said police.

He admitted to stealing between £30,000 and £40,000. However, during the investigation it was discovered that the true figure was in fact £250,201.93.

Although most of the victims have been issued with a refund from their banks, these have not been for the full amount.

Det Con Emma England of Northamptonshire Police's economic crime team said: “Benjamin Howard was placed into a position of trust which he betrayed and instead of safeguarding his victims, he took full advantage of their vulnerabilities.

“In his own admission, he stole the money to fund his gambling and pay off his debts which had spiralled out of control. Although he was remorseful, we hope he uses his time in prison to not only reflect on his actions but to receive support for his addiction."

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