A CARE home manager who was arrested trying to flee the country after stealing £40,000 from disabled residents has been jailed for two years.

Anthony McElvaney, who worked for the Pickering- based Wilf Ward Family Trust, was stopped at Heathrow Airport as he was about to board a flight to Bolivia to be with his wife and family.

The former labourer feared his “monstrous” crimes were to be discovered.

McElvaney, 44, who admitted six charges of theft and one of transferring criminal property, had been employed by the trust for just a month before he started stealing in August 2014,Teesside Crown Court heard.

He had control of the bank accounts of six residents in the two homes he managed, where their care was paid for by the county council.

Over an 18-month period, he “systematically plundered” cash and sent it to his family in South America, said prosecutor Ian West.

The residents - all described as “lacking to a greater or lesser degree in mental health capacity” - had between £4,000 and £9,000 stolen.

Judge Sean Morris told McElvaney: “What you did was a monstrous breach of trust.

“Within four weeks, you were fleecing residents of their money. These are people who put their faith in people to help them.

“I am not being demeaning here, but it’s almost a child-like faith, and you have upset them, caused them distress, and confusion and worry.”

The trust’s deputy regional manager said residents missed meeting McElvaney for breakfast. The court heard how one frightened resident asked if they would be taken to prison because it was their money which had gone missing.

McElvaney, of Ashdale, Middlesbrough, worked for the Trust in Northallerton.

Robert Mochrie, mitigating, said he wired some of the money to Bolivia and spent some to fund a gambling addiction by playing fruit machines.

He said McElvaney had mostly worked in labouring and steel erecting, but changed careers after two friends died in industrial accidents.

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Mr Mochrie branded the thefts “mean” and told Judge Morris: “He seeks to apologise through me, but he makes no excuses for his behaviour.

“When he did what he did, clearly he didn’t give a great degree of thought to those victims. He does now, and understands the suffering.

“I concede on his behalf it would be difficult to imagine offending of this nature committed in a greater degree of breach of trust.”

FLEECED RESIDENTS SHOULD BE REFUNDED

THE Wilf Ward Family Trust says it anticipates residents who were fleeced by McElvaney will be refunded in full.

Trust chief executive Paul McCay also said the organisation, social services and residents’ relatives had ensured they remained able to fund all their usual activities.

Policies and procedures had also been reviewed to ensure all staff were aware of their responsibilities to ensure residents’ finances were safeguarded.

He said McElvaney had stolen money from six vulnerable adults who trusted him and made several attempts to cover these thefts, including electronically altering bank statements.

“When the thefts were discovered, the trust acted immediately and informed the police and other relevant agencies leading to his subsequent arrest and conviction,” he said.

He said McElvaney had abused his position of trust as a manager working with vulnerable adults living in supported accommodation and betrayed the people he should have been supporting.

“No court sentence can repair the hurt he has caused,” he added.

The trust was founded by successful Ryedale industrialist Wilf Ward to ensure that people with learning disabilities were looked after.