A Birmingham bank worker admitted to stealing more than £13,000 from customer accounts.
Nevpreet Bains, 26, worked at Royal Bank of Scotland in Brindleyplace, escaped being sent to jail after a court heard she had been in an abusive relationship and was pressured to steal money from her former boyfriend.
Bains, of Manley Way, Kempston, Bedford, was sentenced to an 18-month community order and to do 80 hours unpaid work and pay £600 compensation.
Birmingham Crown Court heard she got the job through an agency.
Bains had access to the bank’s computer system and on November 11, 2017 she made a transaction payment of £7,500 from a customer account to another account.
Four days later she made a similar transfer involving a different customer, in the sum of £6,000.
A bank investigation revealed the defendant was responsible for the transactions and she was dismissed after the customers noticed the payments missing.
Bains, made a full and frank admission saying she had been placed under pressure by her ex-boyfriend and that she feared he might cause her physical injury.
She said she had been in a controlling relationship at the time and that he had also been controlling her bank account.
Bains said she had not personally benefited from the money that had been stolen.
Nicholas Berry, prosecuting at Birmingham Crown Court, said inquiries revealed that the money had almost been immediately withdrawn into foreign currency.
The investigation showed that there had been third party transactions from the defendant’s account.
Mr Berry said most of the money had gone although the bank were able to recover just over £500.
In passing sentence Judge Roderick Henderson said: “This of course is still a serious offence but understandable why you felt forced into it.”
Gurdeep Garcha, defending, said Bains had experienced a turbulent time in her life but had now moved to Bedford, severing herself from malign influences in her life.
“At the time she was isolated and vulnerable,” she said.
