A HSE home help who found a pensioner’s bank card and pin number withdrew €17,500 from his account without his knowledge, a court heard yesterday.
Judge Tom Fitzpatrick praised the bank official who noticed the withdrawals and alerted the bachelor farmer that Josephine Philips was taking the money from him.
Philips (58), Moyaugher, Kells, Co Meath, pleaded guilty at Kells District Court to 14 counts of theft using the bank card between February and April last year.
Det Garda Ray Shortall said that Philips, while cleaning a room in the home of retired farmer Peter Sherlock (89) in February, had found his Bank of Ireland pass card and security number.
The maximum daily amount that could be withdrawn was €300, and she took out €300 each time. Some premises would allow only €100 to be withdrawn. On those days, Philips used the card three times, he said.
Det Garda Shortall said the offences came to light only when a Bank of Ireland official went to Mr Sherlock after the large amount withdrawn had attracted notice.
Philips, a married mother of four adult children, was arrested and questioned at Kells Garda station, where she admitted what she had done. She has no previous convictions and has paid back all of the money.
Her solicitor, Pat Rogers, said Philips came from a decent family. She had lost her job with the HSE and was now seeing a doctor and was on medication. She was “not a master criminal and used the money to pay the ESB bill” and other bills.
“This was a crime waiting to be discovered” and had “steamrolled out of all proportion”, Mr Rogers added.
Judge Fitzpatrick said they were serious offences to “take €17,500 from a very elderly and defenceless man and, but for the diligence of the Bank of Ireland official, it could possibly have gone on for much longer.
“It is a very mean type of offence to rob a defenceless elderly man who would not be checking his bank account very closely.”
Normally such offences would warrant a prison sentence but, under the circumstances, including her guilty plea, having made full compensation and having no previous convictions, Judge Fitzpatrick adjourned the case to March so that a pre-sentencing report could be prepared. He remanded Philips on continuing bail.