HSBC employee jailed after stealing £150,000 from an elderly man with dementia

A HSBC employee who stole over £150,000 from the bank account of an older man with dementia has been sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Issachar Stainrod-Holness of Balham, South West London, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on 25 July after pleading guilty to one count of Fraud by Abuse of Position.

Detective constable Stephen Westlake, the investigating officer from FALCON, the Metropolitan Police response to Fraud and Linked Crime Online, said: "Mr Stainrod-Holness shamefully plundered the victim’s account and it is tragic that the victim died before Stainrod-Holness could be brought to justice.”

Between December 2014 and April 2016, Mr Stainrod-Holness accessed Robert Mabro’s bank account, whilst working as an employee of HSBC in Bayswater, and transferred money on various dates to an account in his name.

He opened a telephone banking account in Mr Mabro’s name, changing the telephone number to his own. In total, he transferred £156,700 to his personal account.

The fraud went 'undiscovered for so long' because Mr Mabro, who had sole custody of the account, had been living with dementia since 2011, the court heard.

It was not until he passed away last August, aged 81, that his 78-year-old wife began looking into the statements and discovered the spate of transactions. She subsequently alerted the bank who informed the police.

Mr Mabro founded the world leading Oxford Institute for Energy Studies in 1982 and served as Director of the Institute until April 2003. On his passing, the institute released the following statement: “He will be dearly missed and we are privileged to carry on his legacy.”