Abiola Akinremi, a care home employee from Nigeria, was sentenced to seven months in prison in the UK for stealing nearly £20,000 from the savings of vulnerable residents.
Akinremi, 41, is accused of abusing her authority as an administrator at the Bostall House facility in Abbey Wood, Old Bailey, in South East London, by making scores of unauthorized withdrawals from patients’ bank accounts.
The Old Bailey is a facility that houses mental health residents under the Mental Health Act, and those without family support hand over control of their finances to administrators and carers.
Akinremi was sentenced to seven months in prison by the presiding judge, Angela Rafferty KC, who was described by Yahoo News as saying, “This was a repeated and planned course of behavior, and a very significant violation of trust of vulnerable people.”
While Prosecutor Robert Levack said, “People who live at the home are all vulnerable, they have various conditions and are detained under the Mental Health Act or other legislation. It is a 24-hour care facility.
“They are not allowed to leave Bostall House without a member of staff or a family member. Some have their financial affairs looked after by the home.”
Investigations into Akinremi’s fraudulent behavior began in November 2018, when £43,000—including £32,000 from one victim—was missing from locals’ bank accounts.
Up until the first day of her trial, Akinremi had maintained her innocence, claiming that other members of the home’s staff were attempting to “blame” her.
But she admitted taking £19,650 from three residents over the course of eight months, adding that other people at the facility were also guilty of misconduct.
Following that, Akinremi admitted guilt to three counts of fraud by abuse of position, and Judge Rafferty denied a request for a deferred sentence, deciding that only an immediate stint in jail would be suitable.
