Fraudster set up 67 bank accounts for cash machine scam

A fraudster who set up 67 accounts to obtain £10,000 by claiming a number of cash machines in his area were failing to dispense money has avoided jail.
The case was heard at Newcastle Crown Court.The case was heard at Newcastle Crown Court.
The case was heard at Newcastle Crown Court.

Anthony Mawdsley's offending began last July and carried on until police were led to his address in April of this year after Santander became suspicious of what was happening.

Newcastle Crown Court heard that the 28-year-old, of Washington, made 82 false bank account applications in total, 67 of which were successful.

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However, all of the accounts were set up under the same first name as the defendant who was pretending to be multiple different people.

The bank eventually became alert to the fact they had received numerous non-dispensary claims from similar looking accounts all within a small distance of each other.

Prosecutor Neil Jones told the court: "In this case the machines were all local in and around the Chester-le-Street area.

"Five of them were being used. The first was at Savers and the second was at Sainsbury's in the same town.

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"The third was Morrisons, the fourth was at the Co-Op in Washington where the defendant lives and the fifth was at a newsagents also in Washington.

"What he did was he opened a total of 67 accounts in the defendant's name.

"Rather stupidly he used his first name for all of them and used his date-of-birth for all of them."

Mr Jones said that Mawdsley claimed to the banks that no cash had been dispensed from the machines in order to obtain the money.

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Over the ten month period, Mawdsley was said to have benefitted by £10,658.61 after recent checks although it was originally believed to have been just over£9,600.

Mr Jones told the court that he was arrested at his address on April 21, but despite making no reply at the time he did help police with their enquiries by leading them to documents and bank cards in his home.

Mawdsley, of Speculation Place, Washington, admitted one count of fraud by false representation.

The court heard he has 16 previous convictions to his name but only one similar minor offence which was dealt with at a lower court in 2013.

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Glenn Gatland, mitigating, said that the defendant had effectively lost his job as a chef during the pandemic and was using the money to keep a roof over hisfamily's head.

Mr Gatland added: "He lost his job, couldn't pay the rent on his council house and they were being threatened with eviction.

"As a result he resorted to this behaviour.

"It's not a case the defendant is somebody perhaps going into a an elderly person's home, getting cheques and defrauding that particular person.

"Is there a realistic prospect of rehabilitation? I submit there is."

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Judge Sarah Mallett told Mawdsley: "That must have been a very difficult situation but there have been a lot of people experiencing financial hardship and have not resorted to offending.

"A total of £10,658.61 was fraudulently obtained by raising false ATM non-dispensary claims."

The judge said the offence was so serious that it crossed the custodial threshold but agreed it could be suspended.

Mawdsley was given a 14 month sentence suspended for 21 months as well as 10 days of rehabilitation requirements.

He must also complete 100 hours of unpaid work.