A Mansfield man accessed his employer’s online banking app and helped himself to more than £8,000 of company funds.
Jonathan Topliss observed his boss entering a four-digit security PIN and later used it to make several transfers into his own account.
The 37-year-old was arrested after the fraudulent transactions were discovered in March last year.
He went on to plead guilty to fraud by false representation and was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Tuesday (7th January).
The hearing was told that Topliss was hired by a self-employed roofer to undertake four days of work, starting on 4th March 2024.
During breaks, the pair sat in the roofer’s van, and Topliss observed the roofer logging into his online banking via a mobile phone app.
Topliss memorised the PIN and took full advantage when the roofer left his phone unattended in the van.
The court heard that he logged into the app, noted down the roofer’s banking details, and sent himself an activation code so that he could access the roofer’s bank account via his own device.
He subsequently transferred £8,335.10 to himself across several transactions.
The roofer spotted the money transfers and confronted Topliss, who agreed to attend a police station and confess to his crime.
Asked by officers what happened to the money, Topliss – who has 12 previous convictions for 27 offences, including theft – replied that he had used it to pay off his drug debts.
He admitted spending up to £130 a day on crack cocaine and said he stole the money because he was desperate.
Topliss, of Robin Down Lane, Mansfield, was sentenced to six months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. As part of his sentence, he must comply with an alcohol treatment requirement and is subject to a four-month curfew.
He must also undertake 10 rehabilitation activity days and pay £1,000 court costs.
The victim’s losses were reimbursed by his bank.
Sergeant James Smith, who oversaw the investigation, said:
“This brazen deception had a significant impact on a local business that was left struggling to fill a hole in its finances.
“I am pleased that Topliss quickly owned up to his offending and that criminal proceedings have now come to an end.
“He must now pay the price for his actions, both with the sentence handed down by the court, but also with the loss of further work opportunities that might have come his way had he not betrayed the roofer in such an appalling way.”
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