An accountant is on the cusp of being jailed after he confessed to stealing £180,000 from the bank accounts of dead care home residents.
Teesside Crown Court heard how Steven Mason, 36, an internal auditor with Four Seasons Health Care, abused his position to withdraw the cash from the personal allowance accounts of deceased residents.
The fraud was committed between September 23, 2010 and September 1, 2011.
Sue Jacobs, prosecuting, said the cost of Mason's fraud amounted to around £180,000.
Christopher Knox, defending, said: 'There is no dispute this defendant will accept he took the monies that are alleged. He was an accountant in a position of trust. He gave an explanation to the police about how he came to be in this situation and where the money went. He is a man of good character and is anxious to preserve the maximum credit.'
Mr Knox said some of the funds had gone from Northern Ireland and Scotland.
He asked for assurances that Mason would not be charged by those countries, but the prosecution said they had no such control, the Hartlepool Mail reported.
Mason, of Sea View, Easington, pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud.
He was granted unconditional bail and will be sentenced on September 5, after probation reports have been prepared.
Judge George Moorhouse said: 'Before you are sentenced I am going to ask for what is called a pre-sentence report. If you fail to turn up a warrant will be issued for your arrest.'
Four Seaons Health Care is an independent healthcare provider of nursing homes, care homes and specialist units across the UK.
A spokesman for Four Seasons Health Care said: 'We are disappointed and let down that a member of staff could abuse their position of trust in this way. Members of Four Seasons Health Care's financial management team actively co-operated with an investigation by Cleveland Police into suspected financial irregularities within an administrative department for our Care Homes Division, which came to light in 2012. These investigations have led to this court hearing. We have also conducted our own internal review.
'We have reimbursement arrangements in place, as a matter of routine, so that none of our residents or their families would have experienced any lasting financial loss.'