An Afghan assistant nurse in elderly care in Sollentuna has been sentenced to prison after exploiting dementia pensioners she was responsible for in her work. According to the indictment, this concerns 28 cases of aggravated fraud and amounts of over 80,000 kronor from their savings—the money was spent by the woman on shopping. The district court describes the actions as callous and directed at especially vulnerable victims. However, the Afghan woman is allowed to remain in Sweden. She was hired by Sollentuna municipality in 2021, despite having been convicted of theft just a year earlier.

The 36-year-old assistant nurse Wahideh Anwari, who holds Afghan citizenship, worked in elderly care in Sollentuna where she obtained bank cards and PIN codes from elderly people with dementia.

According to the prosecutor, there are three plaintiffs—two women and one man in their 80s—all of whom were in a situation where they had difficulty or were unable to protect themselves.

Wahideh used the cards for cash withdrawals, which she then spent shopping in, among other places, Sollentuna, Solna, and central Stockholm.

In total, the indictment consisted of 28 similar offenses and sums over 80,000 kronor, with the money spent on clothes, cosmetics, and other goods.

Reckless Exploitation of the Defenseless

In a verdict dated March 24, Attunda District Court determined that Wahideh gained access to the cards through her work—and that she had severely abused the trust that comes with the role of care staff.

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The court emphasized that the crimes were committed against people who were completely dependent on care and unable to defend themselves. In the verdict, it is described that Wahideh acted in a way that constituted serious exploitation of the victims’ defenseless position and the special trust she held in her professional role.

Denies Despite Extensive Evidence

Wahideh has consistently denied any wrongdoing and accused the police who questioned her of making false accusations: “How can you believe that I committed these crimes?” she indignantly asked during one interrogation.

The prosecutor, however, has presented extensive evidence in the form of surveillance videos, account statements, receipts, witness statements, and technical data from, among other sources, Bank-ID connections.

In several videos, the district court found it clear that it was Wahideh making purchases and withdrawals. She was also placed at crime scenes at the relevant times through digital tracking.

Wahideh’s sister testified on her behalf and falsely claimed it was not the defendant in the videos. The court did not place any trust in this and concluded it is clear that it is Wahideh shown.

Convicted of Only 8 out of 28 Crimes

Despite the indictment covering 28 suspected acts, Attunda District Court chose to convict Wahideh for only eight cases of aggravated fraud. The court believes there was sufficient evidence for these, while other parts did not fully meet the required burden of proof in criminal cases.

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During the police investigation, Wahideh was suspected of a total of 38 aggravated fraud offenses, but the prosecutor reduced this to 28, which the district court in turn cut down to only eight.

The crimes for which she was convicted correspond to just over 39,000 kronor in actual withdrawals and purchases, but the court also notes that there were more suspected transactions within the scope of the indictment.

Son Discovered His Mother’s Account Was Emptied

The son of one of the victims describes a typical sequence of events. After logging in, he is dismayed when he sees money missing from his mother’s account and records of withdrawals he is sure she did not make.

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When he asks his mother about it, she does not even know how many cards she has, much less that any of them are missing, which withdrawals have been made, or how much money should be in the account. She also says she may well have given her PIN to care staff she trusts.

The Afghan Avoids Deportation

The sentence is one year and four months in prison. However, Wahideh will only serve two thirds of the sentence; the remainder is subject to standard sentence reduction. She must also pay damages totaling 39,701 kronor to the victims, as well as a fee to the crime victim compensation fund.

Neither the prosecutor nor the district court has raised the issue of deportation. This is despite the seriousness of the crime and the fact that Wahideh lacks Swedish citizenship.

Hired Despite Theft Conviction

When Wahideh was hired in 2021, it had only been a year since she was convicted of theft. Nevertheless, she was trusted to work with defenseless dementia patients who are not able to safeguard their belongings and for whom staff trust is crucial.

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The penalty for that theft crime amounted to 100 day fines of 240 kronor each = 24,000 kronor.

The woman’s defense lawyer has appealed the verdict, claiming that the evidence should not have been sufficient for a conviction. The case may thus be tried by a higher court.

Footnote:
When established media outlets such as Mitti report on the case, they choose to omit that the perpetrator has an asylum-related immigrant background, has previously been convicted of theft and avoids deportation.

When Samnytt asks why such central information—which is also found in public records under the constitutionally guaranteed principle of public access—is withheld from readers, the response is simply to refer to point 10 in the Journalists’ Code of Ethics, even though they have already violated it by disclosing, among other things, the person’s gender and occupation.

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