A hapless Irvine crook who exchanged more than £14,000 stolen from a woman’s bank account for US dollars has been spared jail.
Greg Fox, 34, converted the money at Braehead, in Renfrew, by using his own passport at currency vendors.
Paisley Sheriff Court heard that Fox did not make any money from the scam, when his role in the swindle came to light.
He appeared for sentencing this week after pleading guilty to charges of converting £14,141.20 that he obtained through a fraudulent bank transfer from the account of a woman.
Fox, of Parterre in the Ayrshire town, had visited a number of outlets at the shopping centre, where he converted more than £11,000 into US dollars.
He went to M&S Foreign Exchange, Barrhead Travel, TUI, Eurocharge Ltd and Thomas Cook to change the currency – using his passport as identification.
However, cops were able to trace him after getting copies of his passport from the branches, after receiving intelligence about the scam.
When police questioned him, they discovered he had agreed for his bank account to be used for the fraudulent activity in return for payment.
His defence agent Jonathan Manson told the court his client was left empty handed, despite his involvement in the scam.
He said: “He received no monetary gain from the outline figures that were involved.
“At the end of the day, it was all paper transactions and he received nothing from it.”
Sheriff Colin Pettigrew told him: “While in this case there was no monetary gain, it is a serious offence and it has to be dealt with in an appropriate manner.
“I will deal with this with a sentence as an alternative to custody, as this lets you know the serious nature of how I view this matter.”
He added he would be handing Fox no discount for admitting responsibility, because he pleaded guilty on the third calling of the case for trial.
He placed him on an electronic tag for six months, requiring him to remain indoors between 8pm and 8am each day.
He also made him subject to mandatory supervision by the local authority for 18 months.
