Gambling addiction can take one to prison, which was proved once again when a Nationwide Building Society cashier faced the Glasgow Sheriff Court due to charges that she deprived 49 client accounts from GBP 300 000 to fund her gambling habit.
The cashier in question is Elaine Barrett (52), employed by the bank for 18 years, who was sentenced to 15 months of prison for conducting a fraud between January 2008 and January 2010 when she finally got caught in an attempt to transfer a GBP 9229 hand-written check from a closed account to a fictitious account.
It was assessed by procurator fiscal depute Ruth Ross-Davie that "She was able to get away with this because she had set up the transaction when a customer would approach with a view to closing their account and transfer money in to a longer term savings account. The customer would then not be inclined to check that account very regularly."
Her gambling addiction apparently began after her father died.
