A SUPPORT worker defrauded a specialist college for young adults with special needs out of over £1,600 by failing to carry out work he had charged for.
Daniel Balfour, of Ord Terrace, Invergordon, had started his own business and worked at Cantraybridge College in Croy between 8 November 2019 and 23 November 1019.
But Inverness Sheriff’s Court was told Balfour failed to complete his 10 hours a week of duties required to help a service user with tasks such as shopping and cleaning.
Despite this, Balfour still submitted invoices for the time required until an audit was carried out on the service user’s property and it was discovered that no cleaning had been carried out.
Balfour admitted a charge of fraudulently obtaining a total of £1672.75 from the organisation.
When charged, Balfour told police he had been declared ill.
Defense barrister Patrick O’Dea said his client’s career in the care industry was over and he was in “emotional and financial pain”.
He added: “It was a new adventure for him. He knows he let the service user down and he would like to refund that money.
“But he will struggle right now. He is looking for a new job.
Sheriff Neil Kinnear said he was considering a fine and compensation, but postponed the 32-year-old’s sentence until November 10, for a substantive report.