Bank of Scotland bank worker faces jail for £40k theft
Catrina McCann, 44, took the cash after spotting a colleague had made an error when handling a customer account.
Her co-worker had tried to close the account but accidentally closed the wrong one which contained £38,275.29. This went unnoticed by managers at the Bank of Scotland in Strathaven, Lanarkshire, until the customer whose account had been shut down contacted them nine months later and a probe was launched.
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Hide AdIt was then discovered that McCann, of Carluke, had used her own unique log-in details to transfer the money around various dormant accounts in the bank before withdrawing all of it in £20 notes.
Suspicious bank investigators noticed McCann had stopped taking money from her own bank account despite having earlier admitted having money worries, and they concluded she was cash-rich. McCann went on long-term sick leave before being hauled in by bank chiefs and sacked. Police were then called and she was arrested but only £120 was recovered.
McCann has now appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted embezzling the cash between January and September 2012 at the Bank of Scotland branch in Strathaven.
Depute fiscal Jason Bell told the court the initial error led to McCann stealing the money.
He said: “In the process of doing that they entered an incorrect albeit similar account number and aborted the transaction, or at least she thought she had but she closed another account which had £38,275.29 in it. This money then goes to a holding account.
“Sometime after that in September 2012 the customer whose account had wrongly been closed contacted the bank and advised she had not authorised the closure of the account and an investigation was undertaken.”
Sheriff Daniel Kelly QC deferred sentence until next month for reports adding: “I shall need a background report before I can deal with this but you have pled guilty to embezzling a substantial amount of money.”
When approached McCann refused to comment.