Online gambling bank fraudster sentenced

A former Barclays Bank official in England has been sentenced for stealing GBP127,000 from internal bank accounts to meet payday loans she took out to feed an online gambling addiction.

29-year-old Julia Finney’s three-year scam was designed to repay dozens of expensive, short-term payday loans she took out to feed her gambling addiction.

Earlier this year Finney admitted the theft of the GBP 127,471 belonging to Barclays between January 1, 2010, and January 20 2013 .

Jailing Finney for two years, Recorder Richard Benson dismissed her argument that she had targeted the bank rather than customers.

He told her: “This was a serious breach of trust and you used very sophisticated methods to continue thieving and covering your tracks.

“You have never really given an explanation as to why you did this other than your gambling habit.

“You tell the probation service you think there is a difference between stealing from customer accounts and stealing from the bank.

“But stealing is stealing. There is a common misconception that banks and business can survive when people look to steal from them.”

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