For years, Carine Van Bastelaere and her husband have called on various people to help them with their daily tasks. Indeed, if the couple from Roeselare got organized despite Carine’s blindness, her husband Herman then fell seriously ill. The couple then decided to call on a reduced mobility center and meet a man who takes care of their shopping, report our colleagues from Het Gazet Van Antwerpen.
Last August, unfortunately, Herman died but a little earlier, he warned Carine and explained to her that their caregiver does personal shopping with their bank card.
“Herman had warned me that we had to be wary of him anyway,” explains Carine Van Bastelaere.
If this practice is already contentious, an even more amazing thing will happen a few months after Herman’s death. Indeed, the orderly asks Carine outright if he can take a look at my actions. “He worked as a seller in the market and could explain things to me very well (about it)”, explains the sixty-year-old. “However, I did not retrieve the card.”
Carine’s card in hand, the man then makes various purchases such as his Christmas shopping at the Euroshop in Roeselare or the payment for new furniture at Top Interior in Izegem. The scammer performs many transactions and even transfers money to another account.
“Even two hours before he gave me the card anyway, he still withdrew 600 euros from my account,” recalls Carine. In total, more than €100,000 were stolen.
Luckily, a colleague of this caregiver, Joost Lagae, realizes the scheme and alerts Carine. “I found it suspicious that he still had that bank card. I didn’t trust this guy from the start,” he explains.
The sexagenarian then lodged a complaint with the police and hired a lawyer. She hopes to recover at least €70,000 of her bank shares. “I was stupid, it’s my own fault,” reacted Carine Van Bastelaere. “I (him) trusted but I am too gullible”.