A civil servant from Dundee has avoided a prison sentence after defrauding the Department for Work and Pensions of over £42,000 in a sick pay scam. David Allan, 36, used the details of three pensioners to divert payments into his own account while working at the Dundee Pension Centre.
The scam was uncovered when the family of one of the pensioners reported missing payments intended for funeral expenses. An investigation found that Allan had manually processed payments and signed off on them, with CCTV footage showing him withdrawing cash from post offices in Dundee and Birmingham.
Allan pleaded guilty to embezzling £42,008.83 between May 2009 and March 2011. The court heard that the money was used for online gambling, with substantial transactions to Paddy Power. However, no individual lost money, as the loss was to HM Treasury.
Sheriff Elizabeth Munro deferred sentence for four weeks for social work reports and released Allan on bail. The Crown accepted a not guilty plea to a separate charge under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
