A financial institution supervisor who stole nearly £18,000 from an 81-year-old widower with dementia has been jailed for 13 months.
Stephen Barr, 38, of Aberdeen, intentionally focused the pensioner as a result of he knew he was weak and confused.
Barr, who labored as a hyperlink financial institution supervisor for Financial institution of Scotland in Dundee, transferred £10,550 right into a constructing society account belonging to his brother in addition to making ATM withdrawals totalling £7,383.
He was sentenced at Dundee Sheriff Court docket after he pled responsible to being concerned in a fraudulent scheme between March and Could 2018. The shopper he stole from has since died.
Throughout interviews with Financial institution of Scotland officers, Barr mentioned the person was an everyday buyer and admitted he was conscious he had vulnerabilities.
Stephen Barr (pictured), 38, of Aberdeen, intentionally focused the 81-year-old widower as a result of he knew he was weak and confused
The courtroom heard that he admitted taking one of many man’s debit playing cards to withdraw money from ATMs in Dundee and Aberdeen and to figuring out the PIN quantity for his account on account of his place on the financial institution.
Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, mentioned: ‘This was a stunning and callous betrayal of belief of each a weak man and of an employer.
‘All of us ought to be capable to depend on banking employees to cope with our cash actually. Nonetheless, on this case, Stephen Barr got down to goal an aged man and steal from him.
‘Fortunately, his legal conduct was uncovered, and justice has been finished.’ The courtroom heard that all through March and April 2018, the client attended the department in Murraygate and spoke with Barr about his accounts and affairs.
In Could that yr, issues have been raised at Lloyd’s Banking Group over the variety of sooner funds being made by Barr from one of many man’s accounts.
The employees file quantity used to make these funds corresponded with that of the accused and the type code of the Nationwide account receiving these funds was the identical account the accused obtained his wage into.
5 funds totalling £10,550 have been recognized as suspicious, having been authorised by Barr and transferred from the client’s account to the Nationwide account which belonged to the accused’s brother.
Subsequent financial institution investigations revealed a complete of £17,933 had been both withdrawn in money or transferred from the person’s two accounts and the matter was referred to the police.
The Financial institution refunded the client his stolen cash previous to his loss of life and as such the financial institution has suffered the whole loss.
Barr will now be topic to confiscation motion underneath proceeds of crime laws to get better the monies he stole.
