Mum scammed family out of £500,000 to feed ‘money addiction’

To her friends and family, Annabelle Allan was a hard-working mum with a good job at Lloyds Bank.

But in reality, the 29-year-old had been scamming them out of £500,000 to fund the vicious cycle of debt she got herself into after taking out a payday loan when she was 18.

Allan, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, used a sophisticated scam to con and steal from those closest to her – including her own brother.

He ended up in court facing a debt of nearly £17,000 after she secretly took out loans in his name. It was at this point that she became trapped in her own web of lies that have landed her with a four-year prison sentence. Another victim lost their entire life savings.

Her brother spent months trying to clear his name, contacting multiple companies and trying to get his credit score back up. In the end he had no option other than supporting the police in prosecuting his sister.

That’s when it emerged that she had used her position in IT at the Lloyds data centre to devise a detailed and convincing fake share scheme.

Between 2017 and 2019 she encouraged her family, friends and acquaintances to invest in it and then ‘recycled’ £330,000 back to investors to make them think they were getting a return on their money. They then re-invested, but the returns stopped.

At this point, Allan was confronted by some victims and she would write them cheques, forging her father’s signature. Those cheques bounced.

Her lawyer, Gurdit Singh, said that her debts resulting from the payday loan she took out 11 years ago steadily increased and became unmanageable. She became desperate and isolated when she was unable to make the minimum payments so turned to fraud.

Mr Singh added: ‘It is a peculiar case in the sense that many of her victims have also provided character references in respect of this young woman.’

Lloyds has reimbursed some victims, but there is still nearly £170,000 that is unaccounted for.

Allan forged signatures and sent fake letters pretending to be from the police or solicitors. The bank investigated her activities in early 2019 and she was sacked after a four-month suspension.

Even while on bail she continued her fraudulent ways. Last year she sold three vehicles using one of her company names. Only two of those vehicles was ever delivered and she received payments worth £37,000 into her personal account.

On LinkedIn, Allan describes herself as an ‘enthusiastic and friendly person’ with a ‘thirst for knowledge’. She adds that she enjoys dancing, going to the gym, skiing and meeting up with friends.

Recorder Bryan Cox KC said she had shown persistence and a considerable degree of sophistication in her offending.

He said: ‘When you received complaints you fobbed people off with elaborate excuses.

‘These were people that you knew, that you were in regular contact with, and your ability to perpetrate this offending shows a high degree of callousness and disregard for the lives of other people, some of whom you purported to be in friendship with.

‘You were tricking people and misleading them to part with substantial sums of money.’

She is now said to be shattered over the strain she put on her brother, family and friends.

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