South Yorkshire women to pay back more than £100,000 stolen from care home residents

Two women, who falsified and destroyed financial records at a Sheffield care home, have been ordered to pay back more than £100,000 or face further time behind bars.
Joanne Brownhill and Mandy Sargent will pay back money they stole from a Sheffield care home, or face further jail timeJoanne Brownhill and Mandy Sargent will pay back money they stole from a Sheffield care home, or face further jail time
Joanne Brownhill and Mandy Sargent will pay back money they stole from a Sheffield care home, or face further jail time

Joanne Brownhill, 47, formerly of Campion Drive, Killamarsh, Sheffield and Mandy Sargent, 50, formerly of Myrtle Crescent, Wickersley, Rotherham, were jailed for a combined total of seven years in June last year after pleading guilty to false accounting, to profiit from vulnerable adults.

Brownhill and Sargent were back in court on Tuesday, where they were ordered to pay back a total of £122,200.10 under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to the care home residents they stole money from.

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The thefts happened in Sheffield over a seven-year period at Mansfield View supported living accommodation in Sheffield.

At the confiscation hearing it was declared that failure to pay back the money will result in a further nine months in prison for Brownhill and 18 months for Sargent.

The two women, who were senior managers at the facility, managed the finances of adults who had moderate to severe learning difficulties.

To provide help and support to residents, managers were allowed to request money for residents’ use via an internal money ordering system.

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After the two were jailed for false accounting, a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation was launched to recover their ill-gotten gains.

South Yorkshire Police financial investigator Malcolm Lilley said: “Over a seven-year period, Brownhill and Sargent systematically and selfishly made thousands of financial transactions from residents, making every effort to hide where they were getting this money from.

“Following their convictions, we launched a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation which allowed the court to make a confiscation order to recover the money they benefited from through their criminal gains.

“The victims were vulnerable and relied on these two women for help and support every single day. They were in a position of trust and abused that, taking from people who had placed their confidence in them.

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“I’m pleased that the court has made confiscation orders against both of these defendants, instructing them to compensate the elderly victims who were within their care.

“Where someone is thought to have benefited from criminal activity, our financial investigation team will always look in to this and where possible, will seek to seize their ill-gotten gains or have them repaid through the Proceeds of Crime Act.”