Nurse stole £4,600 of friend's savings

A "monumental breach of trust unlikely to ever be restored" Wick sheriff tells the fraud accused
A CAITHNESS nurse turned to a friend after spiralling into debt, Wick Sheriff Court heard today.
But Gayle MaGennis, 30, didn’t ask for her help but “borrowed” her key card on several occasions to syphon more than £4000 from her bank account.
MaGennis’s financial nightmare was so serious that a money lender repeatedly took charge of her entire monthly salary, Wick Sheriff Court heard, leaving her desperate to meet her day-to day bills.

MaGennis, of 76 Seaforth Avenue, Wick - not as earlier stated - admitted stealing £4,600 from the un-named friend by using the debit card at a local ATM in what Sheriff Andrew Berry described as “a monumental breach of trust.”

The fraud was discovered after the friend became aware that there had been a number of unauthorised withdrawals from her savings account, between March 27 and June 15, this year.

David Barclay, prosecuting, said that suspicion had fallen on MaGennis and the manner in which she had got access to the cash, emerged. The accused had, during visits to the friend secretly taken her key card made a withdrawal and returned the card. Mr Barclay said that MaGennis made a full admission to the police and said she had got herself into “serious financial difficulties” and turned to “one of my good friends”. The cash had not been taken for personal gain, to indulge in luxuries, but to address her finances which had “spiralled out of control”.

Mr Barclay added that the nursing authorities were aware of the case and would be considering MaGennis’s future employment.
Solicitor Sylvia MacLennan said that the mother of two was “extremely embarrassed” by what she had done and went on to highlight how the accused had been forced to turn to crime.

Because MaGennis's wages had been arrested by a loan company, she was left “with nothing to live on”. She had used the money from her friend’s account for essentials such as electricity and groceries.

Miss MacLennan went on: “The accused was aware she would be caught. It was a self- destruct course of action.” The solicitor revealed that the entire amount was to be repaid through a loan volunteered by a loyal work colleague and arrangements were being made, to pay the cash back into the friend’s account.

Sheriff Berry said that the “monumental breach of trust" between the accused and her friend was unlikely to ever be restored”.
He continued the case for two weeks to allow repayment of the money stolen, to be finalised and indicated that the likely sentence for MaGennis would be a period of unpaid community service.