Cashier stole £10,000 from his great grandmother
A CASHIER from Shepshed stole £10,000 from his great grandmother’s account - including on the day she died.
Alex Thornley of Leicester Road, Shepshed withdrew the 95-year-old victim’s savings, invested at the same branch where he worked, to fritter away on booze and drugs.
The 21-year-old cashier and customer advisor forged the ailing pensioner’s signature on withdrawal slips to get his hands on her money, at the Nottinghamshire Building Society, in Loughborough.
Adam Pearson, prosecuting, said: “Over the course of four months, between January and April, 2015, he betrayed the trust of his employer and his great-grandmother by fraudulently withdrawing amounts belonging to her in an account she had not used since July 2013.
“There were 42 separate transactions, totalling £10,120.”
Leicester Crown Court was told that as well as stealing money on the day Alice Thornley died, on April 4, he went on to take two further amounts, £130 on April 7 and £400 on April 8.
Mr Pearson said that by the time a rel- ative notified the building society about the missing money, on April 17, 2015, there was just £600 left.
The building society investigated the matter, refunded the money to the account and dismissed the defendant for gross misconduct.
Thornley admitted fraud by false representation.
He was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years, with 250 hours of unpaid work and a 15-day rehabilitation activity requirement.
Thornley was ordered to pay his former employer £10,120 plus £50 interest, in compensation, within two years.
Judge Marcus Tregilgas-Davey said: “You actually stole money from the account on the very day your greatgrandmother died.
“In interview, you accepted what you’d done but suggested she’d given you permission to take that money, but by your guilty plea that was clearly a lie.
“It wasn’t taken out of need, it was frittered away on alcohol and drugs.
“You deliberately targeted your greatgrandmother because of her age and illhealth.
“Fortunately she never got to find out what you’d done and that might be a saving grace, that she didn’t have her last days blighted by what you’d done to her.”
Ashraf Khan, mitigating, said Thorn- ley, who had no previous convictions, was so remorseful he attempted suicide after the matter came to light and sustained “serious injuries” which almost resulted in him losing a limb.
The court heard the defendant, who worked full-time at the building society since 2012, after also having a Saturday job there since he was 15, found that staff changes resulted in an increasingly heavy workload that left him anxious, stressed and unable to cope.
Described by his parents as “sensitive and caring,” the usually “responsible young man” turned to alcohol and drugs - and ended up in debt.
Mr Khan said Thornley used the money he stole: “To fund a lifestyle he’d put himself into, to buy more drugs and drink. “He was totally out of control. “His great-grandmother is no longer alive and the damage has been done, but he wants to pay back the money he took with support from his family who will find a lump sum and help him make payments to clear the debt.
“He’s no longer dependent on alcohol or drugs to the extent he was … although he still takes them on a recreational basis. “He needs help and support with that. “He now works at a fish and chip shop which is far less stressful.”