Clydesdale Bank worker jailed over £27,000 fraud
A Clydesdale Bank worker who admitted embezzling more than £27,000 at the firm's head office branch in Glasgow has been jailed for 12 months.
International Trade Officer Alan Mitchell, 32, from Troon, used bogus paperwork to trick colleagues into transferring money to his account.
He was caught when fraud investigators linked the account to one used by the bank for customer charges.
Glasgow Sheriff Court heard Mitchell had not repaid the money he took.
The court was told that he had completed paperwork for the fraudulent transactions and left it in other staff members' work baskets for processing.
Following an internal investigation, Mitchell admitted initiating the transactions and was suspended.
He later admitted embezzling £27,411.40 from the bank at St Vincent Place, Glasgow, between November 2007 and October 2008.
Passing sentence, Sheriff Andrew Mackie told Mitchell that he had committed a "gross breach of trust".
"Given the amount embezzled here and the fact that you allowed suspicion to fall upon more junior employees of the bank who were following your instructions, I see no alternative to a custodial sentence," he said.