Financial institution supervisor who stole virtually £18,000 from an 81-year-old widower with dementia is jailed for 13 months

A financial institution supervisor who stole virtually £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 stated the person was an everyday buyer and admitted he was conscious he had vulnerabilities. 

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 as a consequence of his place on the financial institution. 

Helen Nisbet, Procurator Fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, stated: ‘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 take care of our cash actually. Nevertheless, on this case, Stephen Barr got down to goal an aged man and steal from him.

‘Fortunately, his prison conduct was uncovered, and justice has been carried out.’ The courtroom heard that all through March and April 2018, the shopper attended the department in Murraygate and spoke with Barr about his accounts and affairs.

In Could that 12 months, considerations had 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 kind code of the Nationwide account receiving these funds was the identical account the accused acquired his wage into.

5 funds totalling £10,550 had been recognized as suspicious, having been authorised by Barr and transferred from the shopper’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 shopper his stolen cash previous to his dying and as such the financial institution has suffered the overall loss.

Barr will now be topic to confiscation motion underneath proceeds of crime laws to recuperate the monies he stole.