A former employee of a Co. Derry Credit Union who stole £92,000 from customers has been jailed for eight months.
Geraldine O’Kane, 47, of Birren Road in Dungiven pleaded guilty to fourteen counts of theft and one of false accounting.
In her role as Assistant Manager at Dungiven Credit Union the defendant stole £92,000 from the accounts of eight different people over the period of February 2013 to April 2015.
During that time the defendant started to take money from accounts she considered to be ‘dormant at the time’.
The offences came to light when O’Kane ‘confessed to someone to she had stolen from’, after which the full extent of her criminality was uncovered.
Judge Gordon Kerr QC told Derry Crown Court it was a ‘breach of trust’ and ‘very serious offending’ which ordinarily carries ‘an immediate custodial sentence’.
He said there were a number of mitigating factors which had to be taken into account by the court.
An immediate prison sentence could only be avoided in ‘exceptional circumstances’ and Judge Gordon said no exceptional circumstances were at play in this case.
In addition to the fifty percent a further discount was given for the defendant’s record and family background.
O’Kane was given an eight month sentence in relation to each count, to run concurrently.
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