Former Lloyds Bank Security Chief Pleads Guilty To £2.4m Fraud

A former IT security chief at Lloyds Bank has pleaded guilty to committing fraud against the financial institution worth over £2.4 million.

Jessica Harper, who was in charge of fraud and security for digital banking on an interim basis, was accused of submitting false invoices to claim payments over a four year period.

At Southwark Crown Court in London, she admitted to two charges, one of fraud by abuse of position, another for transferring criminal property – the money defrauded from Lloyds.

Prosecutors did not open the facts of the case. Antony Swift, prosecuting, described the fraud as “very simple”, noting that Harper was in the process of selling her house for around £700,000 and has already repaid £300,000. She will be sentenced at a later date.

A serious crime

“She appreciates the seriousness and has made full admissions in interview. She understands perfectly well on the next occasion she will be facing imprisonment of some length,” said Carol Hawley, defending.

“As the court process is ongoing it would be inappropriate for us to comment,” a Lloyds spokesperson said.

TechWeekEurope understands that the fraud was not perpetrated against customers and was identified by the bank through its own processes, before police took on the case.

A recent survey of hundreds of IT staff across the world commissioned by security firm Cyber-Ark Software showed 74 percent of respondents believed the insider threat to their organisations was greater than that posed by cyber criminals.

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