A Nairn woman stole £46,000 from her partner’s divorce settlement – claiming she was being blackmailed by a former flame.
Linda McDermott discovered the log-in details for Nicholas Orcherton’s account and skimmed off the cash over a seven-year period.
Mr Orcherton only noticed the money was missing from his nest egg after he and McDermott had split up and he tried to buy a new home.
At Inverness Sheriff Court yesterday, 50-year-old McDermott of Viewfield Street, Nairn, admitted the crime.
Fiscal depute Roderick Urquhart told Sheriff Gordon Fleetwood: “In January 2006, Mr Orcherton received his share of the sale of the former matrimonial home divorce settlement – a total of £75,371.61.
“He deposited the money in a Halifax internet savings account where he planned to retain the money to accumulate interest whilst he looked for a new property to buy.
“In August 2013, he went to Elgin branch of the Halifax but the staff were unable to find an account in his name with such funds and said that they would make inquiries.
“Later that month he received a letter from the Halifax advising him that the balance in his account was £62,787.14 and that they would in due course send him a new username and password.”
The court was told that it was McDermott who had in fact written that letter.
Mr Urquhart said the relationship between Nicholas Orcherton and McDermott broke down and in June 2014 he started looking for somewhere else to live.
But when he went back to the Halifax having made a successful offer to buy a property in Elgin, he was told the account with £60,000 in it couldn’t be found.
Mr Urquhart went on: “Staff produced a number of statements relating to his internet savings account. He could identify only six of the transactions shown, all others having been made without his knowledge or consent.”
Mr Orcherton then called McDermott who said, “Just come home and I will explain.”
She said she had been blackmailed by a former partner and had accessed and used his money to pay him off.
The matter was later reported to the police – and it later emerged some of the money was spent at retail stores and online retailers.
When asked about inconsistencies in her story, McDermott told officers she had given her ex-partner money, however now stated that she had done so because she felt sorry for him and a lot of the money was used to purchase gifts for members of his family.
Defending, Shahid Latif said his client would make efforts to collate funds to pay off some or all of the money.