How ‘hardworking and bubbly’ Lloyds Bank worker became a £500,000 fraud queen

A mother-of-two who appeared to be a normal IT worker at a Lloyds Bank branch was in fact a ‘money addict’ who conned her own family and friends in a scam worth half a million pounds. 

Debt-ridden Annabelle Allan, 29, from Halifax, described herself as a ‘hardworking, bubbly, enthusiastic and friendly person’ who has a ‘thirst for knowledge’.

However, the beauty-loving criminal mastermind ‘sophisticatedly’ used her job as a ‘cover’ to trick those closest to her – including her own brother – into investing in a fake share scheme.

The seemingly intelligent young woman could have earnt an honest living for herself, but instead her ‘addiction to money’ saw her jailed for four years last week.

Bradford Crown Court heard how Allan racked up more than £16,600 worth of debts in her brother’s name, which led to him having a County Court judgement made against him.

Prosecutor Marte Alnaes said her brother had spent months trying to ‘clear his name’ and he had no option but to support the police in prosecuting his sister.

Allan began her offending back in 2017 when she was said to have been struggling with debt. She was still committing crimes in May last year when she obtained more than £37,000 from customers who thought they were buying vehicles. 

According to her LinkedIn profile, the 29-year-old started working as a technician at Lloyds Banking Group in September 2015. Prior to that she had worked as an ICT Technician and a Service Desk Advisor.

On her profile, she talks about her experience working in IT and says she is ‘very good at dealing with customers’. She writes: ‘I am very easy to get along with and understand the issues customers are facing when they contact me and I sympathise with this.’

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Allan also says that she ‘thrives off learning new skills’ and enjoys participating in hobbies including dancing, going to the gym, skiing and meeting up with friends.

It is clear that the mum-of-two was not predicting a spell behind bars for herself as she adds: ‘I often get asked where I would like to be in 5-10 years time and honestly I don’t have an answer. The only answer I am sure of is that it will be in IT.’

Her hobbies include ‘dancing, going to the gym, skiing, meeting up with friends, baking, motorbiking and learning new skills’. 

She writes: ‘I am always trying new hobbies with my friends as I love learning and pushing myself to be able to achieve things. I am excited to see where my career within IT takes me as I learn and develop.’

It appears that the criminal mastermind also had a passion for all things hair and beauty. Her Companies House shows that she set up the hair and beauty business Annabelle’s Beauty Ltd on January 5, 2019, however this went on to be dissolved on November 3, 2021.

Her Facebook page shows further details of the beauty business, with a client in 2019 sharing a photo of her lash extensions with the caption: ‘Annabelle’s made my eyelashes amazing yet again.’

Further records show that she set up a second business Annabelle Maisie Trade Ltd, with a registered office in Keighley, West Yorkshire, in January last year.

Other posts on her profile present her as family oriented, with several posts from her close relatives calling her ‘a beauty’, as well as images of her two children.

But behind the mask of a ‘bubbly’ young woman who had a ‘thirst of knowledge’ lay a much darker mind. 

On Tuesday, June 18, prosecutor Marte Alnaes outlined details of Allan’s offending to the court, which started with her taking out personal loans in her brother’s name without his knowledge.

Ms Alnaes said between 2017 and 2019, Allan also used her IT position at a Lloyds Bank data centre to devise a ‘detailed and convincing’ fake share scheme before encouraging family, friends and acquaintances to invest in it.

Over that period Allan was said to have obtained just under £500,000, but almost £330,000 had been ‘recycled’ back to investors. The court heard that some victims had also been reimbursed by Lloyds Bank, but there was still an unaccounted sum of £167,796.40.

Allan was said to have forged signatures and sent investors fake letters purporting to be from the police or solicitors. Lloyds Bank investigated Allan’s activities in early 2019 and after being suspended she was dismissed four months later.

Lloyds Bank investigated Allan’s activities in early 2019 and after being suspended she was dismissed four months later.

One of Allan’s victims said she had given the defendant her life savings and the defendant had shown no remorse just ‘crocodile tears’.

After police began their investigation into Allan’s frauds she was released on bail.

But last May she used her position at a car sales firm to advertise vehicles and obtain payments from three unsuspecting customers totalling £37,676.

Allan’s barrister Gurdit Singh said Allan fell into a ‘vicious cycle of debt’ after taking out Payday loan when she was 18.

Mr Singh said Allan had expressed genuine remorse and recognised the significant impact on her victims.

Mr Singh said that some of the victims had in fact submitted character references on behalf of his client and submitted there was a strong prospect of rehabilitation.

But Recorder Bryan Cox KC said Allan, who admitted fraud, had shown persistence and a considerable degree of sophistication in her offending.

Jailing Allan, he told her: ‘You abused your position at Lloyds and you set up a convincing fake Lloyds share scheme.

‘You used that scheme to extract money from friends and family and other people you were acquainted with and you effectively used your job as a cover.’