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A former care worker has been put behind bars after stealing a “vulnerable” 93-year-old’s card details to help fund a £15,500 Amazon spree on over 1,200 “non-essential” items, including sunglasses, shoes and nappies.
24-year-old Sandra Pereira Fernandes, who also stole information from her father’s friend, was handed the 16-month sentence in the Royal Court yesterday after admitting three counts of fraudulently obtaining funds.
Fernandes had photographed one of her victim's cards and kept the other one's details on a paper note concealed her phone case as part of what Police described as her “calculated” fraud, which involved abusing the trust of people who had “invited her into their homes in good faith.”
But while she managed to rack up a bill of £15,458.49 in just a few months between 2016 and 2017, her downfall began when her father’s friend spotted the unusual Amazon purchases on her account.
She contacted Police in April last year, suspecting that Fernandes had been the one responsible because she had attended her home for dinner in recent months, prosecuting Crown Advocate Matthew Maletroit told the Court.
On those occasions, she had been left alone to feed her baby daughter in the living room, where the victim's bag, containing her bank cards, would have been. The victim confronted about the transactions over Facebook, but was met with denial.
Pictured: One of the victims contacted the police to report suspicious transactions on her account.
But Police investigations revealed that the contact details, and billing and delivery address on the Amazon account used all pointed to Fernandes. They soon established that within just a few weeks between March and April that year, Fernandes had splurged her ill-gotten cash in 135 transactions worth £1,898.
She was arrested in May, later confessing that she’d made the purchases, but protesting that it was her own card.
When her phone was seized, however, Police found four photos of the victims’ debit cards taken just months earlier. They also uncovered a small piece of paper within the case featuring a string of debit card details.
They turned out to be those of a 93-year-old man –Fernandes’ former landlord, and a family friend, whose home she was said to have unlimited access.
Fernandes used the man’s money to fund 1,081 purchases totalling £13,559 on Amazon alone, between August 2016 and May 2017. £180 was splurged on phone credit, while Fernandes made an additional £206 in online purchases.
Pictured: While investigating Fernandes, Police found evidence of another fraud.
Most of the spending was centred on “non-essential” items, including bedding, sunglasses, nappies, trainers and children’s clothes. Only a small number of the items were found at Fernandes' home but she denied selling them on. She explained that if she didn't like an item, she simply threw it away.
Describing the man as “elderly, vulnerable… and unlikely to discover the offences, Advocate Maletroit explained that the man only became award of the transactions when Police contacted him.
Fernandes remained adamant before Police that she hadn’t used the cards, but finally gave in when they presented her with evidence. She admitted doing wrong, attributing her actions to post-natal depression and stating that shopping provided “release from the negative emotions and feelings she was expressing.”
A report on Fernandes’ circumstances noted that she felt unable to communicate how she felt with anyone and had bought items to make herself feel better at the time of offending. It also noted that she had a good work ethic.
The Crown Advocate recommended a total sentence of 21 months in prison.
Defence Advocate John McCormick described the offending as an opportunistic and opportunistic crime by someone who now felt deeply ashamed and remorseful. He added that Fernandes had offered to compensate the victims.
Pictured: Advocate John McCormick told Court Fernandes was suffering from post-natal depression and used shopping as a "release."
He also urged the court to consider the “difficult place” the young woman found herself in due to her depression.
Deputy Bailiff Tim Le Cocq QC, who sat with Jurats Jane Ronge and Pamela Pitman, told Fernandes her offending involved a substantial breach of trust. He said the Court had heard and considered the mitigation and references in her favour, but felt there was no reason not to send her to prison.
Sentencing her to a total of 16 months at HM La Moye Prison, he also made a confiscation order of over £12,000.
In a statement released after Fernandes' sentencing, Police said the sentence was appropriate, commenting: “This was a calculated crime whereby Fernandes exploited the trust of her victims for her own personal gain. The sentence today is appropriate, based on the circumstances.”
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