A care home manager who stole a cheque and then used it to pay £4,500 into his own bank account was today (Thursday) jailed for five months at Lincoln Crown Court.
John Valmoria, manager of the The Bungalow Care Home in Spalding, took the cheque while assisting Pamela Easey to pay her husband’s care home fees. He then filled it in and paid it into his account.
Mark Knowles, prosecuting, said that Mrs Easey paid by cheque and her normal practice was to allow Valmoria to write out the cheque and she would then sign it.
The first cheque she signed was for £254 and she later made a further payment of £509.
Mr Knowles said: “When this defendant had Mrs Easey’s cheque book he tore out another cheque together with the stub. She believed he had simply made a mistake and disposed of the cheque.
“However the missing cheque was paid into his account. When Mrs Easey discovered her account had been debited by £4,500 she contacted the care home. The defendant provided various different answers as to how the money arrived in his account.
“He contacted Mrs Easey on various occasions eventually persuading her to treat the money as a loan and withdraw her claim against him.
“He drafted a loan agreement which he persuaded her to sign. He told her the money was for a relative in the Philippines.
“But he simply stole the cheque, wrote it out and paid it into his account.”
Valmoria (38), of Pennygate, Spalding, admitted a charge of theft between October and November 2012.
Judge Michael Heath told him: “I am not persuaded to deal with you in any way other than immediate custody.
“This woman trusted you and you abused that trust.
“You then tried to cover it up by persuading her to sign a loan agreement and tried to get her to withdraw her allegation against you.”
John McNally, defending, said Valmoria had lost his good character and also lost his job over the incident.
“His options of working in health care are now curtailed. He has lost everything he has worked for.”
