Bank thefts teen gets jail warning
A TEENAGER convinced bank staff she was her boyfriend’s ex for six weeks to drain £1,710 from the other woman’s account, a court heard.
Portuguese Tatiana Filip-De-Matos, 19, continued to lie about her identity even after bank staff eventually became suspicious and called police, West Norfolk Magistrates’ Court heard on Wednesday.
Yvonne Neill, prosecuting, said, when officers arrived at the bank, Filip-De-Matos said: “This is impossible. I am Sonia Ramires.”
Filip-De-Matos, of Highfield, Fairstead, found an expired debit card and account statement belonging to Miss Ramires under her boyfriend’s bed, Ms Neill said.
She took them to the bank and told staff she had lost her purse but needed to withdraw cash from the account.
She backed up her story with a note from Norfolk police stating she had reported her purse missing.
Filip-De-Matos admitted getting cash from the account and committing fraud by false representation on September 26 and October 6 and 24.
She asked for a further two attempts where she was successful in withdrawing money, on October 17 and 22, to be taken into consideration and making a further four unsuccessful attempts, two each on November 1 and 2.
Roger Glazebrook, mitigating, said Filip-De-Matos had no convictions pre-dating these offences but had been convicted of theft from shops on a later date.
He said Filip-De-Matos had spent three months without income due to problems over her benefits partially related to her need to pass a citizenship test.
He said she had become depressed and been drawn into drugs, developing a habit where she spent £20-£30 a day on heroin and £10-£20 a day on cannabis.
She was now 11 weeks pregnant and seeking help for her addiction voluntarily, he said.
Magistrates adjourned the case to February 29 to allow a report to be prepared by probation staff prior to sentencing.
William Hush, chairman of the magistrates’ bench, said prison was an option.
He said consideration should also be given to combining a drug rehabilitation requirement with a punishment element such as unpaid work.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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