Crooked carer who stole £18,000 from ‘vulnerable’ pensioner with dementia to pay for his ‘significant’ gambling addiction is jailed
- Mahmed Javid Chichanwala, 43, started stealing from the man, 90, in May 2022
- He used the victim’s debit card to frequently withdraw money from ATMs
A carer whole stole £18,000 from a ‘vulnerable’ pensioner with dementia to pay for his ‘significant’ gambling addiction has been jailed.
Mahmed Javid Chichanwala, 43, stole cash from the 90-year-old man, who needs round the clock care, shortly after moving into his house in Salisbury between May and August 2022.
He used the victim’s debit card to frequently withdraw hundreds of pounds from ATMs before depositing it into his own account.
He also used his online banking to directly transfer money across to his own account with the reference as ‘expense’ and transferred substantial amounts of money to his friend to repay a large debt.
The former carer, who now lives in Brighton and Hove, was jailed for 16 months at Winchester Crown Court yesterday.
Mahmed Javid Chichanwala (pictured) stole £18,000 from a ‘vulnerable’ pensioner with dementia to pay for his ‘significant’ gambling addiction
The former carer, who now lives in Brighton and Hove, was jailed for 16 months at Winchester Crown Court (pictured) yesterday
Chichanwala’s crimes were only spotted three-months later after a cheque from the victim’s account to a family member bounced. The bank looked into his money and he was arrested.
He confessed everything on the first opportunity, admitting that the money had been used to send to family, fund his gambling habits and repay a stacked up debt from gambling.
He must serve at least eight months of his 16 month sentence before he is considered for release by a parole board. If he is released he will serve the remainder eight months on licence.
This means he will be free to live in the community but must stick to certain conditions set out by the court – including keeping the police aware of your whereabouts at all times.
Investigating officer DC Dominic Maidment of Wiltshire Police said: ‘Chichanwala was put in a position of trust over the victim and immediately betrayed them for his own gain.
‘He stole thousands of pounds from the victim over the course of multiple transactions, taking advantage of the victim’s vulnerability to repay debts he owed and to fund a significant gambling addiction.
‘I am pleased that Chichanwala pleaded guilty at the first opportunity so as not to put the victim and his family through a trial.’
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