A Hull bank worker stole thousands of pounds from ten elderly customers after spiralling into £50,000 of debt from an online gambling addiction, a court heard.
Richard Dale, 42, "targeted" his older and confused customers and stole a total of £13,360 from them after plundering his own wages and savings into online gambling games.
One of his victims, Brenda Miller, 79, found out he had stolen £2,000 from her on the day she informed the Lloyds TSB in Hessle Road, west Hull, where Dale worked as a customer service adviser, that her husband had died.
Sitting at Hull Crown Court, Recorder David Osborne told Miller: "You specifically targeted vulnerable customers at the bank, no doubt knowing the chances of them realising you had stolen from them were minimal."
The thefts came to light in January this year, when customer Philip Norton made a large withdrawal from his account in the morning and then discovered a further £1,000 was withdrawn later that day.
He informed the bank and it showed the cashier responsible was Dale.
CCTV footage confirmed Mr Norton had not been in the bank at the time of the transaction.
Prosecuting, Richard Thompson said: "They checked Mr Dale's till and it was £168 short, but the defendant couldn't explain the difference and couldn't understand how the second transaction happened.
"A full investigation was carried out by the bank and a number of irregularities across other accounts became apparent."
As questions started mounting for Dale, of High Stile, in Leven, he tried to pin the blame on colleagues and even relatives and carers of the victims, who were then questioned by the bank's investigators.
He had worked at the bank since graduating from university and, having won awards there, he was described as a "model employee".
When he was interviewed by the police, he suggested other members of staff had been using his password.
Mr Thompson described how one victim, Barbara Wheatley, 88, who had £778 stolen, needed her husband to do her banking because she is so poor-sighted and the couple had regarded Dale as a friend because they would shop at the same newsagents and bank with him regularly.
He stole £300 from Sidney Stockton, 74, who was a resident in a nursing home. Carers looked after his finances.
Mr Thompson said: "They thought their money was safe there and some indicated they would never have known money had been taken.
"It is no coincidence that the majority of the complainants are in their seventies, eighties and nineties."
In mitigation, Louise Reevell said Dale, who has a two-year-old daughter and had been described as a "family man", had now lost everything, including his partner and the mother of his child.
She said he had turned to crime after he became unable to pay household bills because of his crippling debt, which the family were unaware of.
"Through me he wishes to apologise to all the victims and their families and his own family for bringing shame on them," she said.
"He is clearly aware of the impact this will have on all of them."
His mother, who was in court, wept as Recorder Osborne sentenced Dale to 16 months for each theft charge, to run concurrently.
He said: "It is very sad indeed to find a man of your character and background in this position.
"You have no doubt let your family down greatly. They are no doubt devastated by what has happened."
All victims have since been reimbursed by Lloyds TSB bank.
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