Former care manager jailed after stealing more than £250,000

A 35-year-old man has been jailed after he abused his position as a care manager at a specialist supported living home in Northampton and stole more than £250,000 from vulnerable service users.

Benjamin Howard, of Breach Close, Brixworth, was sentenced to three years and four months in prison at Northampton Crown Court on August 21, after admitting one charge of fraud by abuse of position.

Between September 2017 and August 2020, while in charge of five care facilities in the county, Howard laundered funds through interbank transfers via his own five personal accounts and that of service users.

Using service users’ bank cards held at the care facility he used them to withdraw money from ATMs as well pretended to be them to access and make changes to their accounts to switch to telephone/internet banking and to redirect bank statements to his home address.

Howard also bypassed company policies and informed service users’ next of kins that he was the person to go to concerning financial queries as well as creating bogus trips and events to collect funds from them.

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

Throughout his police interview, 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.

He also admitted to stealing funds to the value of £30-40K 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.

Following an investigation by Northamptonshire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, Howard was subsequently charged and appeared before Northampton Magistrates’ Court on June 10 this year, charged with fraud by abuse of position- Fraud Act 2006.

Howard admitted the single charge and was released on unconditional bail while he awaited sentencing at Northampton Crown Court.

Detective Constable Emma England of the Force’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.

“Fraud can and does devastate victims and Northamptonshire Police will seek to protect the most vulnerable in society and pursue those who take advantage to benefit themselves. We hope this sentence sends a clear message about how seriously police and the courts take such offences.”

If you’ve been a victim of fraud, please report it to Northamptonshire Police on 101 or online at northants.police.uk. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

It is also important to report all fraud-related incidents to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud reporting centre, to help build a national picture and prevent others falling victim. Call 0300 123 2040 or report online at www.actionfraud.police.uk.