skomer Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4526897.Sus...r_his_mortgage/ A bank manager stole cash from his branch to pay for his mounting debts. Richard Griffiths repeatedly pocketed small amounts of cash from Alliance and Leicester to pay for his mortgage and credit card bills. The 37-year-old, of Belsize Close, Worthing, made off with hundreds of pounds of customers’ cash during just one year at the Chapel Road bank. Yesterday Griffiths pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates Court in Christchurch Road, Worthing, to one count of theft by employee and five counts of fraud by abuse of position. Prosecutor Linda Arnell said £1,255 had been taken from the bank by Griffiths between March 2008 and January 2009. The court was told that the bank boss was only discovered after another member of staff became suspicious and reported him. The company’s fraud investigators were then called in to monitor the bank. The court was told that the 37-year-old, who had no previous convictions, was in debt with a mortgage and credit cards. Griffiths, who was sacked by Alliance and Leicester, is now paying back all of the stolen cash. The court was told that he has now found a new job and helps out in the community, running a five-a-side football team. Worthing magistrates sentenced him to 100 hours of community service. Yesterday The Argus visited Griffiths’ home but he did not answer. Griffiths is the second bank manager to be found guilty of theft in the last two months, In June Cathy Otero, a manager for the Alliance and Leicester’s four branches in Brighton and Hove, was jailed for 27 months after stealing £259,000 from accounts to fund her gambling addiction. Otero, of The Parks, Portslade, pleaded guilty to 15 charges of stealing cash from 14 accounts. In her desperation she even stolen £43,000 from a sick friend who trusted her enough to let her handle her financial affairs. Many of the victims were elderly people who did not use their accounts very often. She stole more than £57,000 from one couple over five months. Another victim had more than £38,000 plundered from his account over 11 months. The bank repaid the money to the customers. Otero handed over some money to compensate the Alliance and Leicester for some of its losses. The scale of her stealing came to light after an investigation into financial irregularities by another employee at the bank’s branch in Western Road, Brighton. A spokesman for Alliance and Leicester said: "Alliance and Leicester takes fraud and the security of our customers funds very seriously. “Whilst we do not comment on individual cases, we always fully investigate and cooperate with the police should we believe that fraud has taken place." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 £1255. chavs get let off for stealing cars 20 times that value. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 £1255.chavs get let off for stealing cars 20 times that value. Yes but this is a crime against a bank! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juvenal Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4526897.Sus...r_his_mortgage/Richard Griffiths repeatedly pocketed small amounts of cash from Alliance and Leicester Sadly, I'm like him. It's called having an Alliance and Leicester ISA, when the interest rates are rubbish.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 It's the £750 billion stolen by Applegarth, Goodwin, Hornby, Darling et all we should be worrying about and prosecuting. Who cares less about a couple of petty pilferers in local branches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 A, can we stop the tiresome rubbish about how everyone who works in a bank must be on billions of our money ? B, he's very lucky not to have got a long jail sentence - this is breach of fiduciary duties - far worse than normal scamming or theft. I'd have given him 5 years at least for it. Irrespective of the amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 (edited) B, he's very lucky not to have got a long jail sentence - this is breach of fiduciary duties - far worse than normal scamming or theft. I'd have given him 5 years at least for it. Irrespective of the amount. Yes as I say he stole from a bank, therefore he must be ritually humiliated, stoned, fined, imprisoned, and never work again. As for the money the banksta's have stolen from the rest of us, then we will have to make do with bread and circuses. Edited August 4, 2009 by HostPaul TAFKA Rover2000 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Yes as I say he stole from a bank, therefore he must be ritually humiliated, stoned, fined, imprisoned, and never work again.As for the money the banksta's have stolen from the rest of us, then we will have to make do with bread and circuses. Irrespective of the corporate theft, misappropriation or whatever you belive has been going on, it is not possible to have dishonest people on the front line of banks. We have a family friend who got two years - he was a bank manager - all he did was make up a fictional loan account - which he repaid in full and it cost him more than it would have done had he taken a 'staff loan' - picked up on an audit and he went to Strangeways....... The people that the public deal with cannot be involved in theft at this level - they must be deterred by significant jail sentences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sour Mash Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Up in court for nicking £1255 (skimmed in small amounts) .... yet the banksters who have cost the country hundreds of billions and destroyed the real economy walk away with fat bonuses, CBEs and knighthoods. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredwerker Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Irrespective of the corporate theft, misappropriation or whatever you belive has been going on, it is not possible to have dishonest people on the front line of banks. We have a family friend who got two years - he was a bank manager - all he did was make up a fictional loan account - which he repaid in full and it cost him more than it would have done had he taken a 'staff loan' - picked up on an audit and he went to Strangeways.......The people that the public deal with cannot be involved in theft at this level - they must be deterred by significant jail sentences. Yes I agree and the banking bosses/mps which really got the country in a state should be given life then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredwerker Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 http://www.theargus.co.uk/news/4526897.Sus...r_his_mortgage/A bank manager stole cash from his branch to pay for his mounting debts. Richard Griffiths repeatedly pocketed small amounts of cash from Alliance and Leicester to pay for his mortgage and credit card bills. The 37-year-old, of Belsize Close, Worthing, made off with hundreds of pounds of customers’ cash during just one year at the Chapel Road bank. Yesterday Griffiths pleaded guilty at Worthing Magistrates Court in Christchurch Road, Worthing, to one count of theft by employee and five counts of fraud by abuse of position. Prosecutor Linda Arnell said £1,255 had been taken from the bank by Griffiths between March 2008 and January 2009. The court was told that the bank boss was only discovered after another member of staff became suspicious and reported him. The company’s fraud investigators were then called in to monitor the bank. The court was told that the 37-year-old, who had no previous convictions, was in debt with a mortgage and credit cards. Griffiths, who was sacked by Alliance and Leicester, is now paying back all of the stolen cash. The court was told that he has now found a new job and helps out in the community, running a five-a-side football team. Worthing magistrates sentenced him to 100 hours of community service. Yesterday The Argus visited Griffiths’ home but he did not answer. Griffiths is the second bank manager to be found guilty of theft in the last two months, In June Cathy Otero, a manager for the Alliance and Leicester’s four branches in Brighton and Hove, was jailed for 27 months after stealing £259,000 from accounts to fund her gambling addiction. Otero, of The Parks, Portslade, pleaded guilty to 15 charges of stealing cash from 14 accounts. In her desperation she even stolen £43,000 from a sick friend who trusted her enough to let her handle her financial affairs. Many of the victims were elderly people who did not use their accounts very often. She stole more than £57,000 from one couple over five months. Another victim had more than £38,000 plundered from his account over 11 months. The bank repaid the money to the customers. Otero handed over some money to compensate the Alliance and Leicester for some of its losses. The scale of her stealing came to light after an investigation into financial irregularities by another employee at the bank’s branch in Western Road, Brighton. A spokesman for Alliance and Leicester said: "Alliance and Leicester takes fraud and the security of our customers funds very seriously. “Whilst we do not comment on individual cases, we always fully investigate and cooperate with the police should we believe that fraud has taken place." The good old argus and now Brighton is a measles hotspot as well. Now we have banking theft,measles,swine flu and a statue to aids. o joy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Yes I agree and the banking bosses/mps which really got the country in a state should be given life then.will you also be jailing the millions of fckueiwttd Britons who criminally overspent and lacked common sense ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R K Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 (edited) Irrespective of the corporate theft, misappropriation or whatever you belive has been going on, it is not possible to have dishonest people on the front line of banks. We have a family friend who got two years - he was a bank manager - all he did was make up a fictional loan account - which he repaid in full and it cost him more than it would have done had he taken a 'staff loan' - picked up on an audit and he went to Strangeways.......The people that the public deal with cannot be involved in theft at this level - they must be deterred by significant jail sentences. That's a rather large irrespective you've got going on there R. Bank manager's have given out loans to 'mates', taken customers with them when they moved branches etc etc since as far back as I remember. Of course where it's abuse they should be sacked/prosecuted, but it's small fry. We know for a fact, it's not the local manager that is stealing from customers (the sums involved are 100% covered and infinitessimal), it's the billions that went walk about we should focus on. These are just puff stories to deflect attention. Much like the FSA prosecuting small beer companies at the same time as taking £200m in hush money from HSBC. Edit: Fraudulent bankrupts often are prosecuted or have discharge restrictions. Spending unsecured money lent by stupid banksters isn't a criminal offence. One would hope professional banksters wouldn't give away their depositors money quite so recklessly but since they were stealing it from their shareholders to fund their bonuses they did. You're looking down the wrong end of the telescope. Edited August 4, 2009 by Red Kharma Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Injin Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 A, can we stop the tiresome rubbish about how everyone who works in a bank must be on billions of our money ? Why not? Everything they have is stolen. B, he's very lucky not to have got a long jail sentence - this is breach of fiduciary duties - far worse than normal scamming or theft. I'd have given him 5 years at least for it. Irrespective of the amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
@contradevian Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Irrespective of the corporate theft, misappropriation or whatever you belive has been going on, it is not possible to have dishonest people on the front line of banks. We have a family friend who got two years - he was a bank manager - all he did was make up a fictional loan account - which he repaid in full and it cost him more than it would have done had he taken a 'staff loan' - picked up on an audit and he went to Strangeways.......The people that the public deal with cannot be involved in theft at this level - they must be deterred by significant jail sentences. Thanks. One hopes that the MP's that made up fictional mortgage payments, and second homes, get treated the same way then. Oh its gone strangely silent! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dredwerker Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 will you also be jailing the millions of fckueiwttd Britons who criminally overspent and lacked common sense ? Nope coz unfortunately they dont know any better. They prob think there will be a rise in house prices after the foxtons guy said so and if Sarah Beeny renames her show to property 'the only one way bet' then I shall buy a studio flat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellerkat Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 will you also be jailing the millions of fckueiwttd Britons who criminally overspent and lacked common sense ? It was up to the banksters to assess risk. They failed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 We know for a fact, it's not the local manager that is stealing from customers (the sums involved are 100% covered and infinitessimal), it's the billions that went walk about we should focus on. These are just puff stories to deflect attention. Much like the FSA prosecuting small beer companies at the same time as taking £200m in hush money from HSBC. I don't think you can ignore theft - same as people who work in accounts in businesses or steal cash from their employer. It's worse than 'normal stealing' and should be punished accordingly - like nonce teachers, it's a position of trust - and by virtue of holding it, you tell the world you should be trusted - to then abuse it is a 'worse' offence.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rachman Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 It was up to the banksters to assess risk. They failed.I take it you'll not want the paedo prosecuted for touching up your kid because you failed to keep a protective enough eye on him then ? [extreme and for effect, but you get the point] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 It was up to the banksters to assess risk. They failed. doh, silly boy, they assessed the risk perfectly....they had eliminated risk with their clever schemes designed to circumvent the law and enrich themselves. so, it didnt matter who or how much they lent...it was risk free and outside the lawmakers ability to stop it...outlaws in every sense of the word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bloo Loo Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 I don't think you can ignore theft - same as people who work in accounts in businesses or steal cash from their employer. It's worse than 'normal stealing' and should be punished accordingly - like nonce teachers, it's a position of trust - and by virtue of holding it, you tell the world you should be trusted - to then abuse it is a 'worse' offence.... you are the SIbley of the banking system and I claim my £5 and bonuses cos Im worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crashologist Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Looks like he was showing initiative and wanted a promotion in the banking world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim123 Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Yes but this is a crime against a bank! actually it's because it's a crime against your employer. A shop worker doing the same thing could expect the same punishment tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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