A healthcare assistant who targeted vulnerable patients in what a judge called “the most grotesque breach of trust” has been jailed for 15 months for fraud. Mira Solmaz who worked at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in the City of London, spent hundreds of pounds on victims’ bank cards, Southwark Crown Court heard.
Prosecuting barrister Vivek D’Cruz described the 33-year-old’s actions as “cruel, cynical and ruthless”.Hazel Longhur st, one of her victims, told BBC London: “I just didn’t know that someone could be that evil, to prey on vulnerable people. Ms Longhurst was taken to Barts with cancer in 2021, and at one point was told she had only a 5% chance of survival. Her weight dropped to just over six stone (38kg).
It was while she was seriously ill during seven months of treatment at the hospital that she was targeted by Solmaz.Ms Longhurst, who herself had previously worked as a district nurse specialising in palliative care, said: “My whole career has been with helping people and caring for people.
“I couldn’t believe someone could be in that sort of job with that responsibility and do what she did.”The first clue something was wrong was when she received two text messages, warning her there had been unusual activity on two of her credit cards. Confused, and knowing she had not been using them, Ms Longhurst dismissed the matter.
It was only when her daughter, Melanie, opened a letter from the bank that she became worried and contacted City of London Police, who she says immediately launched an investigation. They discovered that Solmaz had used the cards to make about £1,650 worth of fraudulent purchases. Takeaways, clothes and AirPods.
She had also targeted another seriously ill patient, Todd Mallonee, who died in April 2021 aged 48. Some £360 worth of transactions on his cards were linked to Solmaz.
The court heard the cards from both patients had been used to pay for food deliveries, clothes shopping and AirPods, as well as to pay off debt. When Solmaz’s phone was examined by police, they found images stored on it of bank cards and other personal details relating to three other people, including a nurse at Royal London Hospital.
Source: BBC
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