Biljana Zekavica, 53, had told her victims that the money was to fund work on a house which was being sold, or to pay for dental and medical services.
But in reality the money was used to fund her lifestyle, including buying designer clothes and shoes and a £500-a-week scratchcard addiction.
Judge Catherine Fooks said, in passing sentence, that the offences had been planned and systematic.
In the words of one of her victims, her actions were ‘shameful and detestable’, said the judge.
Zekavica pleaded guilty to a total of 10 counts of fraud, including by misrepresentation and a breach of trust when she appeared in the Royal Court.
Crown Advocate Chris Dunford, prosecuting, said that in an effort to repay some of the money that she borrowed, Zekavica had ended up ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.
Even though she admitted the charges, her advocate, Sam Maindonald, told the court that she still regarded the money as having been borrowed, and she wanted to pay it back.
Some of the men she defrauded were elderly and vulnerable, the court heard, and some had since died.
Advocate Maindonald said her client wanted to apologise to those affected by her actions.
Although Zekavica had never needed money for medical treatment as she had told one victim, she did have significant health issues and she described herself as ‘being in a mental whirlwind’ for many years.
She spent money on expensive things as a way of comforting herself. She had started using scratchcards to try to win money to repay her debts, but this turned into a habit.
She had lost her home, family, employment and reputation. She was living in her car at one point and had nothing to show for the money she had spent.
Judge Fooks said that Zekavica’s actions while in her role as a carer could impact on the public’s perception of those who perform such services.
The court struggled to accept that there was nothing to show from her offending, she added.
At the conclusion of the case, police said: ‘This was a calculated campaign of deceit that targeted vulnerable members of our community, and we hope our investigation reflects the importance we place on safeguarding those who may be targeted by offenders who seek to exploit their trust for personal gain.’
