Two senior employees of the Haven care home in Llanelli stole more than £30,000 from an 89-year-old disabled resident, William Jones, over several months. The pair, manager Claire Harding, 34, and assistant manager Kelly Jones, 45, exploited Mr Jones's trust after he suffered a mini-stroke, which left him with difficulty writing.
How the Fraud Unfolded
Swansea Crown Court heard that Mr Jones would sign a cheque each month to cover his care home fees but would leave most of it blank due to his impaired writing ability. He gave the cheques to Harding and Kelly Jones, who offered to fill them out “as a favour.” Instead, they made the cheques payable to themselves.
“This was a case of staff members taking money intended to be paid to the care home itself,” said prosecutor Harry Dickens. “The victim assumed they were being made payable to the correct people.”
Mr Jones, now 91, was an “inherently vulnerable” 89-year-old at the time, partially paralysed in his lower body. He had been a resident at the Haven for only a few months when the scheme began around March 2024. In total, 10 fraudulent cheques were produced, amounting to £31,912.
Discovery and Aftermath
In October 2024, Mr Jones received a call from his bank, Santander, about an issue with a cheque. The bank also alerted him to several cheques made out to Kelly Jones. Realising he had been defrauded, he contacted a friend, who then informed the care home.
“When the defendants were asked about it they exchanged messages and Harding said she was going to ‘grovel like hell’. They both knew the game was up,” Mr Dickens added.
Kelly Jones texted an apology to the Haven, claiming she had been “facing money issues at home” and alleged Harding was the one who wrote the cheques. Both women lost their jobs and pleaded guilty to fraud. They each repaid £14,000 and will return the remaining £3,912 jointly over the coming weeks.
Background of the Defendants
Harding had worked at the care home for 13 years and had no previous offences. Her barrister, Dean Pulling, said she had worked “for most of her adult life” and is a mother to a 12-month-old baby and stepmother to a 16-year-old daughter who recently sat her GCSEs. “The money was spent clearing debts, mainly those of her brother, which were being collected by some unsavoury characters, but also her own debts,” Pulling said. “She is beside herself with remorse and has thought of little else in two years. It is the last thing she thinks about when she goes to bed and the first in the morning. She finds it hard to believe she committed the offence, but commit it she did.” The court heard Harding is on benefits and has been repaying the money from her grandfather’s savings.
Kelly Jones, of Cedric Street, Llanelli, had four previous offences linked to an aggravated vehicle-taking case in 2007. Her barrister, Ian Ibrahim, said she is also on benefits and able to return the stolen money. She was “ashamed” of her actions, and after being charged, details appeared on social media, leading to threats and vile comments. “At one point she was attacked by two women while taking her son to school,” Ibrahim said. He also noted she experienced a traumatic childhood plagued by domestic abuse and has caring responsibilities for her mother, who has serious health issues, and her son, who has ADHD.
Sentencing
Judge Huw Rees said Mr Jones had suffered “scandalous treatment in the twilight of his life” at the hands of women meant to care for him. He imposed on both defendants a 12-month jail term suspended for 18 months, 15 days of rehabilitation activity, and 180 hours of unpaid work.
