Dublin man stole over €10,000 from elderly woman living in care home to pay off debt

A father-of-three has been jailed for stealing over €10,000 from a woman living in a care home who is now deceased.

Gareth Levins (33) stole the money over a three week period using a bank card procured by a relation of his who had worked as a carer for the victim. None of the money has been recovered.

Levins of Edenmore Crescent, Raheny, Dublin, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to the theft of a total of €10,549 at various locations in Dublin on dates between January 30, 2017 and February 21, 2017.

Detective Garda Andrew Fox told John Byrne BL, prosecuting, that the victim had moved into a care home in December 2016 and her daughter was keeping an eye on transactions in their joint bank account.

In February 2017, the victim's daughter noticed a number of transactions she knew nothing about and contacted the bank. She was informed that someone had contacted the bank in January 2017 claiming to be her mother and requested a new card.

In interview with gardaí, Levins took responsibility for the thefts and said he was under threat to pay off a debt. He said he was related to a former care worker of the victim.

Det Gda Fox said that the care worker pretended to be the victim and picked up the bank card when it was delivered to the woman's vacant address.

The court heard that the victim died in November 2017.

Levins has previous convictions for drug offences and is currently serving a sentence for assault causing harm which is due to expire in April 2021. He was on bail for this assault when he committed the thefts.

Det Gda Fox agreed with Keith Spencer BL, defending, that the debt his client owed related to a car he had purchased from a garage run by “nefarious characters”. He agreed Levins said he was sorry in interview and that he “would rather face a bullet” than commit the offences again.

Mr Spencer said his client was the father of three children. He said his client had a long standing difficulty with cocaine abuse, but was clean of drugs in custody.

Judge Martin Nolan said this was a “pretty cunning offence” that might not have been detected but for the vigilance of the victim's daughter. He said Levins was not the only party involved in the crime and that he had what might be termed “inside help”.

Judge Nolan sentenced Levins to two-and-half years imprisonment, but suspended the final 14 months on strict conditions. He ordered that the sentence run consecutive to the three year sentence Levins is currently serving.