Con-man carer steals from disabled man to send wife to Mauritius (From Sutton Guardian)

Carer Subhiraz Sohun steals from disabled man to send wife to Mauritius

8:00am Wednesday 2nd January 2013 in News By Mike Pyle

Con-man carer steals from disabled man to send wife to Mauritius

A supposed carer who stole more than £2,000 from a man with Down's Syndrome so his wife could go to Mauritius has been spared jail.

Subhiraz Sohun, known as Joe, used his own address in Clensham Lane, Sutton, to look after a Down's Syndrome man as part of Sutton Council's Shared Living scheme, which puts vulnerable adults in carers' homes.

Sohun's duties included looking after the 57-year-old man's finances and using his card and PIN to withdraw money from his account.

Over the space of a month earlier this year Sohun, 51, withdrew £2,460 from the vulnerable man's account and gave it to his wife so she could go to see her sister in Mauritius - despite the fact he and his wife had been paid around £2,500 per month to look after the man over the last year.

The police were alerted to the theft when the man's sister became concerned about unexplained withdrawals from her brother's account in March and April.

Sohun was sentenced to 12 months in prison suspended for two years ordered to do 200 hours of unpaid work and will pay £340 costs after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Croydon Crown Court on Thursday, December 20.

He paid the money back to the man in two installments in June and July. Detective Constable Dan Hobbs, who led the investigation, said: "Police will not tolerate abuse against elderly and vulnerable residents by people who are supposed to protect and look after them.

"Perpetrators can expect to be caught and put before the courts."