A carer who stole more than £6,000 from an 83-year-old man she was looking after has been struck off – despite begging for a “second chance”.
Megan Robertson, 23, stole her vulnerable victim’s bank card and visited cash machines on dozens of occasions withdrawing the maximum amount.
When police searched her home after catching her on CCTV they discovered over £1,000 in cash and receipts for new clothes and expensive children’s toys.
Robertson, of Ellon, admitted stealing the bank card and £6,320 when the case called at Aberdeen Sheriff Court last year and she was jailed for six months.
At the time, Sheriff Graham Buchanan described her deceit as “mean and nasty” and a serious “breach of trust”.
Now Robertson has been removed from the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register after a hearing.
Struck off
The mum begged the watchdog for a “second chance” and insisted that she was fit to practise because the thefts – which happened between September and November 2020 – were “out of character”.
Robertson, who claimed she wanted to be a social worker and was studying social care at college, also said she would follow any conditions set down by the disciplinary body if they allowed her to remain in the profession.
But in a written ruling, the SSSC said: “A removal order was the appropriate and proportionate sanction in your case.
“It was necessary in order to protect members of the public and to serve the public interest in upholding proper standards and maintaining confidence in the social service workforce and the SSSC as the regulator.
“Your behaviour engaged the decisions guidance on cases where more serious action may be required, namely dishonesty, abuse of a position of trust and behaviour that was fundamentally incompatible with professional registration.”
During the court hearing, it emerged Robertson had learned the pensioner’s PIN when she took him to a cash point before stealing his card and using it herself.
She had also used some of the stolen money to put a deposit down on a new car, as well as children’s toys.
