A Sunderland woman stole almost £2,000 by emptying her bank account when she received an incorrect credit payment.
Mandy Sloanes, 50, of Polmuir Road, Plains Farm, Sunderland, admitted a charge of theft when she appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, 16th February 2021.
The court heard that a Post Office payment error saw £2,900 paid into her bank account in error, when actually she was only entitled to £29.
Staff immediately spotted the mistake, which was made on 9th October 2019. Sloanes was asked to sign a receipt for the money before she left the branch, on the understanding that action would be taken to recover the payment.
The days ticked by and the money remained in Sloanes' account, so she eventually succumbed to temptation by spending it.
Glenda Beck, prosecuting, outlined the facts: "The defendant visited the Post Office on 9th October to make a credit transaction of £29.
"This was at a Post Office counter which transferred to her bank £2,900 due to an error, which was immediately identified by the shop owner.
"She was informed and agreed not to take out the money and she signed a receipt. Due to time, only £900 was returned.
"She was interviewed on 17th August, during which she fully admitted spending the money. It was £1,971.
"When asked, she said 'it's in my account, so it's mine'. She said that she didn't ask for it to be put into her account.
"She admitted signing the document when told of the error. She was told of the options she had.
"She could have written a cheque or bank draft, but she said she didn't know she could do that."
Jerry Armstrong, mitigating, said: "I think it's a theft every time that she made a withdrawal during that period, knowing at that point in time the money wasn't properly accredited to her.
"I don't know why arrangements weren't made directly with the bank to get the money recouped, knowing it had been put into her account."
"The court heard that Sloanes had no recent previous convictions, having stayed out of trouble for a number of years.
Addressing the 50-year-old carer, District Judge Kate Meek said: "You haven't half let yourself down here.
"The bottom line is that you knew that it wasn't your money to spend, no matter how you try to justify it.
"It's criminal and it's dishonest. It's out of character for you."
The Judge handed Sloane a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered her to pay £720 in compensation to the Post Office in question.
The usual prosecution costs and victim surcharge were waived, in order to give priority to the compensation payment.
We have previously written a guide to theft, which discusses offences similar to this.
Spending money which you know you are not entitled to is theft, clear and simple. It doesn't matter where that money came from.
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