Care worker guilty of defrauding vulnerable adult

A council said it was "shocked and appalled" after one of its care workers was found guilty of defrauding a vulnerable adult.

Callum Lang, 30, was found guilty of fraud at St Albans Crown Court, and was given a 22-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

The Hertfordshire County Council employee was convicted of stealing funds from a person with learning disabilities that he was supporting, the authority confirmed.

Following a council disciplinary hearing, Lang, from Cambstone Close, London, was also sacked from his job.

Concerns were raised when suspicious transactions were found on a vulnerable adult's bank account.

The issue was reported to its Shared Anti‑Fraud Service (SAFS) and an investigation started.

Lang was immediately suspended, pending a disciplinary hearing, and was then dismissed.

"The SAFS investigation identified numerous discrepancies within the vulnerable adult's bank accounts," the council added.

The offences were committed between August 2019 and September 2021.

He was also told to undergo 200 hours unpaid work, pay £6,858 in compensation, £1,000 in costs and a £187 victim surcharge.

Liberal Democrat councillor Chris Lucas, executive member for resources and performance, said: "We were shocked and appalled to find out that one of our support workers had been stealing from a disabled person they were supposed to be helping.

"Integrity is one of the core values we expect from our staff, and we will take firm action against anyone we find is acting dishonestly.

"We launched an investigation as soon as we became aware of the situation and our fraud investigators quickly uncovered evidence of deliberate fraud, allowing us to bring this prosecution."

Do you have a story suggestion for Beds, Herts or Bucks? Contact us below.

Follow Beds, Herts and Bucks news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.