Carer turned fraudster who exploited two elderly men benefitted to the tune of almost £150,000

Prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher told Antrim Crown Court during a confiscation hearing that despite the fact that John McNeill’s criminal benefit was assessed at £147,246, “there are no realisable assets at the moment.”

Judge Alistair Devlin also heard however that 60-year-old McNeill is the sole beneficiary in the will of one of his victims and “there is no one else to contest the will.”

That means once the will has gone through probate, McNeill will be the sole beneficiary even though the fraudster exploited the victim for years.

Last October McNeill, from Edenvale in Larne, was handed a one year sentence with half to be spent in jail and the rest on licence but the fraudster has already been freed from prison.

McNeill had admitted 14 charges of fraud by false representation in that over a 15 year period between 26 July 2006 and 29 September 2021, he applied for credit cards, store cards and accounts with mail order companies in the names of his two elderly victims

While most of the offences relate to credit cards and mail order accounts, the last offence in September 2021 reveals that despite the fact the victim rarely if ever left his home, McNeill “applied for a £100 prepaid Mastercard under the high street voucher scheme operated by the Department for the Economy” during the Covid pandemic.

In an agreed basis of facts, prosecuting counsel Suzanne Gallagher previously outlined that in July 2020, staff at the Post Office in Larne alerted the police to activity in the bank accounts of three men, McNeill and his two victims 79-year-old Robert Ferguson and Robert McKinty who was 87 at the time.

Between May 4-28th the accounts of the two victims, both of whom have since passed away, were accredited with a total of £3,000 but all of that was withdrawn while McNeill’s account had a total of £3,540 lodged into it with £3,300 withdrawn from various ATMs.

Ms Gallagher said while there was no CCTV covering those transactions, the police did manage to obtain CCTV from a similar transaction in July 2020 and it showed McNeill withdrawing funds and his white Nissan Qashqai parked nearby.

Along with a social worker, police attended the homes of Mr Ferguson and Mr McKinty in December 2020 and by coincidence, McNeill arrived and told police they “wouldn’t get much sense” out of Mr Ferguson.

The 79-year-old “was in a hospital bed in the front room of his home” and through yes/no answers, the pensioner told police “he did not have a Santander bank account, he had no knowledge of cash deposits into this account and McNeill had possession of his bank card.”

The court heard that “Mr McKinty was also in a hospital bed in the front room of his home and appeared to be extremely frail - he had very little speech and appeared incoherent.”

McNeill was first interviewed by police in December 2020, confirming that he had been acting as a carer for both men “for a number of years” and that as such, he did have access to their finances, claiming that “he would assist them by attending ATMs to obtain cash, purchase clothing etc.”

He further claimed the men had been storing "old notes" in their homes and requested that they be changed but could not offer an explanation as to why they were not simply exchanged at the Post Office for new notes, instead of being deposited and withdrawn at a nearby location within an hour.

With McNeill on police bail whole the police conducted further enquiries during which detectives discovered that as a result of a stroke in 2000, Mr Ferguson had problems with his speech and mobility, he either declined to leave the house or would only go out occasionally, that he could express his needs and wishes and that McNeill was “paying his bills and managing his financial affairs.”

Mr McKinty, the court heard, had been married to Mr Ferguson’s sister but she sadly passed away and a Mental State Examination in June 2020 had found the 87-year-old had “severe cognitive impairment.”

“In June 2019 it was reported that John McNeill had been looking after Mr McKinty for approximately 15 years assisting with medication, shopping and appointments but it was noted that Robert McKinty managed his own finances,” the barrister told the court.

Through police investigations it transpired that “a number of credit accounts were open” in the names of both pensioners and Ms Gallagher explained how “the Prosecution case is that the defendant applied for credit from various banks and lending institutions in the names of Mr Ferguson and Mr McKinty which were for his own use and for which he would not have been approved had he done so in his own name.”

“These cards were then used by him and the monthly repayments were made by him sometimes using the complainant’s money. In total the loss to the banking institutions was £28,486.74,” said the PPS barrister.

McNeill’s home was searched in October 2021 when, in addition to a computer and mobile phone, police uncovered “a book containing usernames/passwords for the many of the credit accounts identified by police, and documentation (including unopened bank statements) in Mr Ferguson’s name.”

During police interviews at that time, McNeill accepted he had been providing care for both men but claimed he applied for the credit with the knowledge and permission of the elderly and vulnerable men.

In his plea in mitigation, defence counsel Stephen Law conceded that given the vulnerability of the men and the position held by McNeill that the fraudster’s culpability is high.

The barrister highlighted however that McNeill had entered guilty pleas, had a clear record and had shown “remorse and regret for his actions.”

Jailing McNeill last October Judge Devlin highlighted that in cases of fraud where there is a breach of trust, it is only in exceptional cases where immediate custody can be avoided.

Imposing the 12 month sentence on McNeill, the judge said that in his case there were no such exceptional features to balance out the aggravating factors of a prolonged fraud, exploited upon two elderly and vulnerable victims and at a time when he was in a position of trust.

In court today Ms Gallagher stressed that while there were no realisable assets at present, the confiscation order “will remain in place” and will be payable if and when McNeill “comes into money.”

Mr Law did not raise any objections and accordingly, Judge Devlin imposed the order in the amount of £147,246.