A thieving care worker stole the life savings from three vulnerable and elderly victims – two of whom died before she could be brought to justice.

Sixty-year-old Carolyn McClune, also known as Carolyn Bouvier, of High Street in Redbourn, was found guilty at St Albans Crown Court on March 1 and was sentenced to five years and nine months last Friday (March 15).

McClune befriended the victims before stealing their pensions and life savings, a total of £126,000.

Two of McClune’s victims have since died, and one is now living in a nursing home in poor health.

Most money was stolen from a woman who lived in St Albans - Self-employed McClune, who worked under her company name of Blue Bell Care, became her sole carer in 2014 when the woman was aged 85.

McClune made online transfers of more than £44,000 from this victim’s bank account into her account, on the pretence that it was payment for a new kitchen - But the kitchen only cost £9,000.

McClune also withdrew thousands of pounds of the victim’s cash for herself.

Between September 1, 2014, and August 31, 2015, the defendant stole £88,613.32 from this woman.

Before meeting the 85-year-old woman, McClune left her job at a care agency in 2013 and moved in with an 82-year-old woman in Hatfield - Withdrawing £9,044 in cash from the woman’s bank account.

This victim moved to a Hatfield care home in May 2016, but McClune continued to withdraw more than £300 from the woman’s bank account for herself before she was arrested in December 2016.

The third victim – a man from St Albans – was aged 69. He was vulnerable and needed daily visits from a care agency. He even described McClune as a friend.

Before he met McClune, he rarely went out, but she took him on shopping trips, where he liked to buy DVDs.

This man had his pension due and McClune helped him open a joint bank account in both their names.

McClune forged his signature on three cheques before paying them into their joint bank account.

One of the cheques was a lump sum from his pension company for £27,548.32.

She then made large cash withdrawals for herself and transferred thousands of pounds to her bank accounts.

The man died in May 2018.

Suspicions were raised when McClune was discovered to have at least 11 bank accounts at seven different banks.

After an investigation, four charges of fraud were laid against the 60-year-old.

The original trial took place in May 2018, but the jury had to be disbanded when one of the victims died of natural causes during the court case.

The money she stole has not been recovered, and police believe it is possible she has either invested it or passed it on to family or friends.

However, if she comes into money in the future, it will be subject to another court hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act and could be seized.

Prosecuting Barrister Jack Talbot described Carolyn McClune as “devious, deceptive and dishonest” and that she saw the victims as “low hanging fruit, too tempting to resist.”

Judge Stephen Warner described McClune’s offences as ‘cynical’ and ‘mean’ that was motivated by greed.