Bradford Crown Court cases: £1 fine for Halifax woman who used her job at Lloyds to trick friends and family into investing in a fake share scheme

As reported by the Courier, Annabelle Allan, 29 and of Buxton Street, was jailed for four years in June after she scammed her own brother by taking out personal loans in his name and even embarked on a third type of fraud after she got a job at a car sales business while she was on bail.

Allan, who had no previous convictions, began her offending back in 2017 when she was said to have been struggling with her own debts.

But Bradford Crown Court heard that she was still committing crimes in May last year when she obtained over £37,000 from customers who thought they were buying vehicles.

A judge heard today that Allan’s benefit figure from criminal conduct had initially been put at over £700,000, but it had been accepted that various repayments by her had reduced that figure to £377,942.45.

Judge Sophie McKone declared Allan’s benefit figure to be £377,942.45 but the court heard that the defendant’s current available assets were only a nominal £1.

The judge made the confiscation order in the sum of £1 and said Allan would have 28 days to pay it.

Allan, who is still serving her jail sentence, took part in the hearing at Bradford Crown Court today via a prison video link.

At her sentence hearing earlier this year, prosecutor Marte Alnaes said between 2017 and 2019 Allan also used her IT position at a Lloyds Bank data centre to devise a “detailed and convincing” fake share scheme before encouraging family, friends and acquaintances to invest in it.

She 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.

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