Retirement home boss conned 88-year-old to fund beauty business

A retirement home manager who stole more than £20,000 from an elderly and vulnerable woman has been jailed.

Stephanie White conned her 88-year-old victim into thinking she was helping to pay her bills. Instead, Lancashire Police said, she was writing the cheques to herself.

White, of Clitheroe, admitted fraud by abuse of position on 7 November and was sentenced at Preston Crown Court to two years and ten months in prison.

Police described the 58-year-old as “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” who had channelled some of the money into a sideline beauty business.

The force said White, of Lilac Grove, stole £21,697.79 between April 2022 and October 2023.

Her offending only came to light after the victim became unwell and ended up in hospital.

In her flat, family members found bank statements and handwritten notes relating to White’s sideline business.

After White’s arrest, and throughout her police interviews, she denied she had taken the money illegally.

Instead, she argued it was a gift, a loan or a repayment for shopping which she had done for the woman.

In a statement, the woman’s family said their relative felt “violated, manipulated and deeply betrayed by someone entrusted with her care”.

They said White had stolen money which represented years of hard work by the victim and her late husband.

The cash had been intended to provide security and comfort in her retirement.

They added: “We entrusted her wellbeing to someone we believed to be capable and compassionate.

“Instead, she was exploited and left confused and afraid.”

Det Con Vicky Holt said White took “many thousands of pounds of hard-earned money for her own selfish financial gain”.