Oswestry banker faces jail for account theft

A former building society manager from Shropshire has been convicted of stealing thousands of pounds from a 97-year-old customer.

Rebecca Entwistle had denied stealing £13,390 belonging to Mercy Williams when she worked at the Nationwide Building Society in Oswestry.

But the 26-year-old was found guilty by a jury at Shrewsbury Crown Court yesterday. Entwistle, of College Road, Oswestry, had also denied stealing £500 from retired accountant John Bartley and £200 from his wife, Carolyn.

The offences were all said to have happened between May 2009 and January 2010.

The jury failed to reach a verdict on the thefts from the Bartley's, and those two charges were ordered to lie on the file.

The case was adjourned for a pre-sentence report until March 22 by Judge Robin Onions who told her she would face jail.

She was granted bail.

Judge Onions also said he hoped Nationwide would carry out a review of its procedures.

Mr Phillip Beardwell, prosecuting, said Mercy Williams, as well as the Bartleys, had been reimbursed by the building society.

The court had heard the Bartleys were customers at the Wrexham branch while Eleanor Jones, the niece of Mercy Williams, used the branch in Oswestry to deal with the finances of her aunt, who will be 100 later this year.

Mr Beardwell had told the court eight withdrawals were made from Mercy Williams' account.

Entwistle, who claimed she sometimes left her computer logged on and gave colleagues her password, told police she could not explain the withdrawals.

Documents, including a cheque, registration form and a power of attorney form relating to Mercy Williams were found in Entwistle's office in Wrexham.

The court heard Entwistle was branch manager at Oswestry but was demoted to a customer account manager at her own request when she moved to Wrexham and was in financial difficulty at the time.

See also:

• Oswestry banker theft case jury out

• Oswestry banker’s tears as thefts denied

• Oswestry banker owed £7,000 on loans, trial hears

• Banker denies pensioner accounts theft