Pensioner with dementia lost almost £18k after 'shocking and callous' theft by banker
A senior banker has been jailed for 13 months after stealing £18,000 from an elderly customer who had dementia
PA
A senior banker has been jailed for 13 months after stealing £18,000 from an elderly customer who had dementia.
Stephen Barr from Aberdeen targeted the 81-year-old widower throughout March and May 2018.
The link bank manager for Bank of Scotland in Dundee moved £10,550 into a building society account belonging to his brother and withdrew £7,383 from the ATM.
During March and April 2018, the pensioner attended the branch in Murraygate and spoke with Barr about his accounts.
A senior banker has been jailed for 13 months after stealing £18,000 from an elderly customer who had dementiaPABut in May that year, Lloyds Banking Group raised concerns over the number of faster payments being made by Barr from one of the man’s accounts.
An investigation at the bank found that the staff file number used to make the payments corresponded to Barr.
The sort code of the Nationwide account receiving the payments was the same account the accused received his salary.
Five payments were identified as suspicious - with £10,550 authorised by Barr and transferred to the Nationwide account which belonged to his brother.
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It was found that a total of £17,933 was either withdrawn or transferred from the man’s two accounts.
The case was then referred to the police.
Helen Nisbet, procurator fiscal for Tayside, Central and Fife, said: "This was a shocking and callous betrayal of trust of both a vulnerable man and of an employer.
"We all should be able to rely on banking staff to deal with our money honestly.
"However, in this case, Stephen Barr set out to target an elderly man and steal from him."
An investigation at the bank found that the staff file number used to make the payments corresponded to Barr
ALAMYIn July, a British man in his 90s was robbed of €50,000 by a local woman who was meant to be taking care of him.
The 91-year-old who lives in Spain became concerned after he was bombarded with notifications for non-payments for his bills.
Officers launched a probe noticed a high number of strange withdrawals.
His 64-year-old carer was arrested in Formentera del Segura and charged with fraud totalling €53,753 (£45,278).