A bank worker who abused his position to plunder his parents’ bank accounts of £108,000 has been jailed for 27 months.
Sam Eason, 25, spent much of the proceeds of his five-year deception on cars, drinking, clothes and funding a cocaine habit.
Leeds Crown Court heard Eason abused his position as an employee of the Harrogate branch of the Halifax Bank of Scotland.
The fraud included opening a new bank account in their name and authorising overdrafts on their accounts and spending the funds.
Eason managed to conceal the deception from his parents, Geoffrey and Jennifer, by hiding their bank statements.
He continued the offending even after resigning from the bank in 2009 after management became suspicious and interviewed him about his behaviour.
In May 2010 Eason’s father contacted police to report the theft of £70,000 from his bank account after he went to a cash point and was told there were no funds in his joint account.
He was then informed that his son had been taking money from the account.
Eason, formerly of Wetherby but now of no fixed address, pleaded guilty to fraud.
After the case, Det Con Jonathan Garrod, from North East Leeds CID, said: “This has been a tragic tale of someone being unable to resist the temptation associated with their job and the position of trust they held.
“Financial accountants from West Yorkshire Police, working alongside security staff from HBOS, were able to forensically link the fraudulent transfer of money by Eason between six accounts across four years. This evidence formed a significant part of the investigation and resulted Eason’s guilty plea.”