A bank worker who reclaimed the cost of a lavish break to Dubai after claiming his travel documents never turned up, only to be caught out when bosses saw pictures of him enjoying the break, has been spared jail.
Adam Fraser also made a string of other bogus claims from Bank of Scotland – where he was working at the time – for “disputed transactions”.
Bosses became suspicious after Fraser claimed someone had been using his account to withdraw cash and buy items in transactions he was not making.
In one claim he told the bank his holiday to Dubai had been cancelled because his travel documents hadn’t arrived in time.
But investigators needed only turn to Fraser’s publicly accessible Facebook page to find out he was lying.
They spotted images – now deleted from the social media site – of him enjoying his trip to the Emirate.
Fiscal depute Laura Bruce told Dundee Sheriff Court that Fraser had exploited a loophole he had discovered while working in the Bank of Scotland call centre in Dundee’s West Marketgait.
In total he obtained £5746.42 by fraud by telling the bank his card had been used without his knowledge and consent for purchasing goods and services and that he had been the repeated victim of fraud.
Miss Bruce said: “Staff at the bank became suspicious and investigations were made into the various transactions.
“In one of the transactions he told the bank he couldn’t go on holiday to Dubai but one of the investigators then saw a photograph on the accused’s Facebook page of him on holiday in Dubai.”
She said police were then informed and Fraser was interviewed by officers.
He made a full admission of his guilt to them, she said.
Fraser, 23, of Liff, Dundee, pleaded guilty on summary complaint to a charge admitted that between March 7 and August 31, 2016, at his home at The Steading, North Mains of Liff, and at 2 West Marketgait, Dundee, and elsewhere to the prosecutor unknown, he formed a fraudulent scheme to obtain money.
He admitted that he repeatedly pretended to Lloyds Banking Group that the card associated with his account with the Bank of Scotland had been used without his knowledge and consent for the purposes of purchasing goods and services and transferring money and that he had been a repeated victim of fraud.
However, the truth was he had made the transactions reported as fraudulent and induced Lloyds Banking Group to reimburse the amounts claimed and obtained £5746.42 by fraud.
Defence solicitor Mike Short said: “He understands the position he is in regarding his behaviour.
“Right from the outset it has always been clear that he would have to repay the money.
“I’ve told him right from the outset he would have to repay every single penny.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael imposed a community payback order with 18 months supervision, 180 hours of unpaid work and a compensation order for £5746.42.
He said: “This is a serious matter. It was a relatively complex fraud over a period of time.
“It was a prolonged offence and that takes you into the custodial zone and I have to think if there are alternatives to follow.
“You have no previous convictions and you have a job and it appears you are normally a productive member of society.”
