A WOMAN has appeared in court charged with being involved in the scam of a pensioner.

Laura Wood let criminals use her bank account to transfer cash into after they defrauded a 79-year-old man of £17,500. However, the Crown could not provide specific information in regard to how much money went into Wood’s account.

The 30-year-old appeared at Glasgow Sheriff Court charged with converting £1801 of criminal property into Euros at TUI Braehead on April 7, 2016, which was paid for by fraudulent funds from her bank account.

On the same day, she converted €1000 and €450 in exchange for pounds at TUI Glasgow Fort, which was also paid for by fraudulent funds.

Procurator fiscal depute Ross Harris said: “The complainer was contacted by a male appearing to be from the Royal Bank of Scotland’s fraud department.

"He was told there was a security risk to his account and two separate holding accounts had been set up so his funds could be transferred into these.

“A total of £17500 was transferred. The calls between the individual and the complainer were terminated after the complainer became suspicious and reported it to his bank.

“Police began to make enquiries throughout April 2019 in relation to the transactions carried out at travel agents. These were in relation to the accused.

“Police later traced the accused, and she was interviewed and made a series of admissions in relation to the transactions.”

Mr Harris told the court it was believed the complainer only got £35 of the £17,500 back.

Her lawyer said: “It’s a serious offence, I’m not trying to minimise it. She’s absolutely devastated by what she’s been involved in. She is massively embarrassed as to how easy she was duped in what was a hard part of her life. She’s got a job and responsibilities.”

Sheriff Patricia Pryce deferred sentencing for Wood to save up some cash to pay the complainer back.

She told her: “I’m persuaded to defer these matters for six months to allow you to pay back some money.

“You are a first-time offender but it’s a very serious matter. You need to use the time to save up and come back here and I’ll expect you to have a substantial amount of money to pay. If not, this is a very serious matter, and all options are open.”

Wood, of Springburn, will return to court in November to offer compensation to the victim.