Bradford Crown Court: Halifax woman jailed after using her job at Lloyds to trick friends and family into investing in a fake share scheme

Annabelle Allan, 29, even scammed her own brother by taking out personal loans in his name and when she was on bail for her earlier offending she embarked on a third type of fraud after she got a job at a car sales business.

Allan began her offending in 2017 when she was said to have been struggling with her own debts but Bradford Crown Court heard today that she was still committing crimes in May last year when she obtained over £37,000 from customers who thought they were buying vehicles.

Prosecutor Marte Alnaes outlined details of Allan’s offending which started with her taking out personal loans in her brother’s name without his knowledge.

Ms Alnaes said those offences had resulted in an outstanding debt of more than £16,600.

She said Allan’s brother had spent months trying to “clear his name” and he had no option but to support the police in prosecuting his sister.

Ms Alnaes said between 2017 and 2019, Allan also used her IT position at a Lloyds Bank date centre to devise a “detailed and convincing” fake share scheme before encouraging family, friends and acquaintances to invest in it.

Allan was said to have obtained just under £500,000 but almost £330,000 had been “recycled” back to investors.

The court heard that some victims had also been reimbursed by Lloyds Bank but there was still an unaccounted sum of £167,796.40.

Allan, of Buxton Street in Halifax, was said to have forged signatures and sent investors fake letters purporting to be from the police or solicitors.

Lloyds Bank investigated Allan’s activities in early 2019 and, after being suspended she was subsequently dismissed four months later.

One of Allan’s victims said she had given the defendant her life savings.

After police began their investigation into Allan’s frauds, she was released on bail but in May last year she used her position at a car sales firm to advertise vehicles and obtain payments from three unsuspecting customers totalling £37,676.

Allan’s barrister Gurdit Singh urged Recorder Bryan Cox to consider a suspended prison sentence.

He explained how Allan fell into a “vicious cycle of debt” after taking out payday loan when she was 18.

He said Allan had expressed genuine remorse and recognised the significant impact on her victims.

Mr Singh said that some of the victims had in fact submitted character references on behalf of his client and submitted there was a strong prospect of rehabilitation.

But Recorder Cox said only an immediate prison sentence met the seriousness of what Allan had done.

The judge said Allan, who admitted several charges of fraud, had shown persistence and a considerable degree of sophistication in her offending.

“You abused your position at Lloyds and you set up a convincing fake Lloyds share scheme,” said Recorder Cox.

“You used that scheme to extract money from friends and family and other people you were acquainted with and you effectively used your job as a cover.”

Recorder Cox said Allan knew her victims and her ability to commit offences disclosed a high degree of callousness and disregard for their lives and feelings.