An elderly man stricken with terminal lung disease and depression had almost $15,000 stripped from his bank account by his Albury nursing home carer before he died, a court has heard.
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The money in the 82-year-old's account was a nest egg set aside to pay for his funeral.
But by the time of his death on February 22, young Wodonga single mother-of-two Angela Drennan had thieved all but $165.
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It was a crime that represented an "outrageous breach of trust," magistrate Richard Funston told Drennan in Albury Local Court on Monday.
Defence lawyer Mario Vaccaro submitted that Drennan, now 25, was "very regretful and remorseful" for her actions, though this could not be seen in court as Drennan was wearing a face mask. This is not yet a requirement in the Albury courthouse precincts.
Drennan, who previously pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining a financial advantage by deception, took $14,136.81 from the victim's account after taking his Commonwealth Bank card from his room.
This comprised $12,690 in cash withdrawals at ATMs and purchases totalling $1446.81, between October 9 and February 20.
Mr Funston was scathing, as rather than the "bare necessities" Drennan "just wanted to give her own children (aged 2 and 3) a better life"
"It's very murky behaviour to me. If you had entered a plea of not guilty to this charge and had been found guilty, you would have been sentenced to full-time custody."
Drennan was handed a jail term, but Mr Funston said her plea meant she would get to serve this by way of a nine-month intensive corrections order.
"I want you to see this as a jail sentence in the community," he said.
She must also complete 100 hours of unpaid community work and repay the money taken.
"It's a breach of trust, it goes to the heart of the criminal justice system."
The court was told Drennan hid the victim's bank card in her car and eventually made 32 transactions, having written down the pin number - it was the man's date of birth - on a piece of paper.
The deceptions were uncovered by family members when they went to clear his belongings from his room at Mercy Place Albury, where Drennan had worked as an assistant nurse since 2013.
They saw bank statements that contained a number of unauthorised transactions so reported this to Albury police, who obtained CCTV footage that included Drennan making a withdrawal of $800 from a Hume Bank ATM.
Drennan went on to make purchases at outlets including APCO, Coles, Woolworths, Big W and Bunnings.
