Thieving Paisley carer pinched bank cards and went on spending spree

Shamed Donna Bain was convicted in August 2020 of theft and fraud at Paisley Sheriff Court.

She has now been struck off the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) register for her brazen actions which happened in July 2018.

It comes after she repeatedly presented the debit cards and pretended that she was authorised to use them in stores.

Bain went on to obtain a quantity of goods to the total value of £115.32 by fraud.

She has now been slammed for abusing the trust placed in her by her employer and colleagues.

A SSSC report said: “Social services workers must be reliable and dependable and must not behave in a manner, inside or outside of work, which questions their suitability to work within the social services profession.

“The public places trust in registered social services workers.

“Accordingly, registered workers must ensure they respect the trust placed in them by being open, honest and trustworthy.

“You have been convicted of fraud and theft.

“During your employment, you stole bank cards from [redacted].

“You proceeded to use one of those bank cards to make contactless purchases for your own financial gain.

“Your behaviour was dishonest and falls far below the standards of practice expected of registered social services workers.

“Dishonest, criminal behaviour is incompatible with continued professional registration.”

The SSSC has now removed Bain from the register - banning her from working in the industry.

The panel said a warning would not be appropriate as the behaviour was very serious and would offer no protection to service users or the public.

The carer had no previous history with the SSSC or the police, cooperated with the SSSC’s investigation and apologised for her actions.

The report continued: “The behaviour caused direct financial harm to a [redacted].

“The behaviour leading to the convictions was not isolated but involved multiple instances of dishonest behaviour.

“Crimes involving an element of dishonesty such as fraud and theft cannot be easily remediated, if at all.

“Although you have admitted the offences, tendered a guilty plea and cooperated with the SSSC, limited insight has been shown.

“The behaviour is highly likely to cause concern to members of the public.

“You had access to the bank card by virtue of your employment and abused the trust placed in you by your employer and colleagues.

“During your employment, you would have also had access to the bank cards of vulnerable people who use services.

“If any acts of financial misconduct were to be repeated at work, vulnerable people who use services and/or social service colleagues could be placed at risk of financial exploitation.”