Hairdresser who stole from elderly customer told to pay back all the money
A hairdresser who befriended a ‘vulnerable’ customer before stealing money from her bank account in a ‘despicable’ crime, has has sentencing adjourned until he pays back all the cash.
Mark Purdy (44), of Kilmakevit Road in Cullybackey, committed the theft between January 1 and September 12 last year.
He brought another £500 compensation to Ballymena Magistrates' Court on Thursday. He has now paid back £1,000 of the agreed amount of £2,900.
District Judge Nigel Broderick said he wants another £500 brought to the court by mid-August.
He told Purdy on Thursday: "I am not going to sentence you until you have paid all the money back".
At an earlier court the defendant pleaded guilty to theft. A prosecutor told that court the victim was a vulnerable 71-year-old woman.
The court was told Purdy had "befriended" the woman after he had "done her hair" in recent years.
The woman had provided him with her pin code and bank card for him to collect groceries for her and bring them to her home, the prosecutor added. The defendant had stolen amounts ranging from £150 to £500 from the account.
The prosecutor said it was initially indicated around £4,000 had been taken but the agreed figure before the court on the charge sheet is £2,900.
A defence solicitor told the earlier court the defendant is a hairdresser but is now unemployed.
Purdy now accepts his guilty but the prosecutor said that during the police interview he had "denied any withdrawals for his own personal use and indicated that the victim had a gambling issue and an alcohol problem".
Judge Broderick told the earlier court: "So he blamed it on her then. He said she was drinking and gambling, a 71-year-old lady who was vulnerable, on her own".
The judge had told Purdy: "This is a despicable crime. A 71-year-old vulnerable lady, you befriend her, you get her trust and she is at your mercy. You abuse that trust".