A man from Verwood who stole £118,000 over four years from JP Morgan has been jailed for 28 months.
Kevin Emerson, of Hayward Way Verwood, admitted fraud by abuse of position and theft while working at the bank’s offices in Bournemouth.
Bournemouth Crown Court heard he stole cheques worth over £118,000 to fund gambling debts. He also committed fraud in a bid to hide a mistake made in a financial transfer whilst at work.
He wrote company cheques to pay his own credit cards, and spent 10 years fraudulently transferring money between different accounts.
The offences only came to light after Emerson had retired.
Passing sentence, Judge Stephen Climie said Emerson had been in a position of absolute trust at the bank where he was seen as an esteemed and valued colleague. “It’s clear despite your positive attributes you have lived for many years with a personal demon, namely a gambling addiction.”
He told him, the stolen funds “unquestionably facilitated, if not fuelled, your addiction”.