A court has heard details about a West London banker who stole £280,000 ($380,295) from his employer between November 2017 and October 2019.
Romilio St Clair, 43, appeared at Southwark Crown Court in London on Thursday to address the charges. He supposedly stole the money from HSBC on Fulham Broadway by transferring cash from his till to an unmanned one.
An internal investigation into the missing cash in 2020 revealed the ploy by St Clair. The married dad of two then repaid some of the stolen money from his pension pot, but only to the tune of £11,000 ($14,947). He then waited four years for his court appearance.
loss of cognitive control”
According to NHS psychologist Dr Matt Gaskell, St Clair had a “loss of cognitive control” due to his gambling addiction. Financial records showed that he spent the funds on gambling, something that made it difficult to recoup the stolen funds, according to prosecutor Michael Bisgrove.
The judge ruled that St Clair would not have carried out the theft if he didn’t have the debilitating gambling addiction. She said it became an addiction when he “chased again and again a redemptive win.”
The court case ended with St Clair charged for fraud by abuse of position. He pleaded guilty and the Judge suspended his two-year custodian sentence citing his obligations to his children and wife, who works as a carer.
