Major bank caught up in £142k theft

Major bank caught up in £142k theft




A former Lloyds Bank employee has been jailed for two years for stealing £142,681 from an 80-year-old pensioner over an 18-month period….

A former Lloyds Bank employee has been jailed for two years for stealing £142,681 from an 80-year-old pensioner over an 18-month period.

Christopher Scott, 23, from Southampton, committed multiple cash withdrawals from the pensioner, as she suffered from early signs of dementia, whilst working for Lloyds Bank in Shirley.

Following his sentencing at Southampton Crown Court, Bernadette Kearney, Senior Crown Prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Wessex, explained how Scott's gambling addiction had had devastating consequences on him and his family.

"Christopher Scott stated, when interviewed by the investigator for the bank, that he initially stole the money as, because of his gambling habit, he could not pay the household bills,” said SPC Kearney.  

"An internal system at the bank raised an alert indicating that Christopher Scott had made multiple cash withdrawals from the account of an 80-year-old pensioner who lives in sheltered accommodation in Southampton as she developed early signs of dementia.”

A review of her easy saver account revealed that between January 2013 and July 2014, Scott has processed 77 cash withdrawal transactions totalling £136,686 and £7,400 from an ISA.

Some transactions occurred while the victim wasn’t present while others involved altering the transaction slip to reflect a larger withdrawal than given to the customer.

Lloyds investigated the matter and refunded the victim’s account before dismissing Scott.


 

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