A MOTHER and daughter who stole more than £60,000 by plundering children’s bank accounts and taking out bogus loans in a dead man’s name are facing jail.
Catherine Burnett, 63, and Andrea Rodden, 44, hatched a plot to pocket a fortune from the Whitehill Hillhouse Earnock Burnbank Credit Union (WHEB) in Hamilton, Lanarkshire, where they worked.
Branch manager Burnett applied for loans while her daughter changed details to stop them slipping into arrears.
The pair took out cash totalling £6,000 for 73-year-old John Higgins who had died six years earlier.
A loan for £8,200 was also taken out in Burnett’s brother’s name without his permission.
Rodden, who worked as a senior financial administrator, also plundered £31,000 from junior savings accounts used by children.
Their scheme began to unravel when credit union bosses suspended Burnett over bullying allegations. A probe discovered major irregularities in accounts.
A panicking Burnett visited Mr Higgins’ son and pleaded with him to say he had applied for the loans in his father’s name but he contacted the police.
The duo, of Hamilton, have appeared at the town’s sheriff court and admitted a £30,000 fraud between 2007 and 2013.
Rodden admitted stealing £31,000 through a fraudulent scheme between 2012 and 2013.
Depute fiscal Callum Forsyth told the court: “The accused Burnett was suspended due to complaints made about the way she was treating staff and as a result an external HR consultant was brought in.
“Although she was initially meant to be dealing with a disciplinary matter she found several issues in accounts.
“One was for a Mr John Higgins who passed away in September 2008 but in 2014 loan applications were made in his name for £2,000 and £4,000.
“Burnett filed an application and the accused’s daughter Rodden altered the computer system to adjust the interest rate to zero and change the loan repayment date so it did not show up as arrears.
“At the start of 2014, Burnett went to the house of Mr Higgins’ son in a distressed state asking him to say he had taken out loans in his father’s name and was provided with a piece of paper with loan details written on it which was handed to the police.”
The court was told investigators discovered dozens of loans had been made for customers who were not aware of what was happening.
Rodden made 68 transactions ranging from between £100 to £2,500 from children’s customer accounts to her own.
Mr Forsyth added: “The accused Rodden was moving money from junior saving accounts to her own bank account.”
There was no loss to the credit union or customers after insurance repaid the losses.
Sheriff Shiona Waldron deferred sentence on both for reports.
WHEB was set up in 1995 and has more than 2,000 members.
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