Westpac banker Alicia Jill McDonald jailed for $176k fraud

A Queensland banker and mum of three has been caught stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from elderly customers and using their money for “lifestyle” purchases.

A Westpac personal banker has been jailed for 12 months after defrauding elderly customers of more than $176,000 and using it to fund holidays, hair appointments and even a Harley Davidson motorbike.

Gympie District Court heard Alicia Jill McDonald, 35, swiped the money from four customers over a 14-month period from March 2018 to May 2019.

In the worst instance, McDonald stole $152,114.54 from an elderly retiree who had sold their home and travelled to Germany.

The court heard McDonald, a mother of three including a newborn, took the money in 120 separate transactions, at one point increasing the transaction limit on his account from $1000 to $2000 to take the money.

The retiree only discovered the theft when he returned to find $277 in his account.

Alicia Jill Mcdonald pleaded guilty to charges of fraud at Gympie District Court on May 11, 2023.

McDonald also defrauded a second customer of $13,000, a third of $1000, and a fourth of $10,000.

Alicia Jill McDonald, 36 was jailed for four-and-a-half years, with the sentence to be suspended for five years after serving 12 months.

In total she stole $176,114.54 from the bank’s customers.

The court heard in some cases she accessed their accounts through her mentee’s computer and forged signatures.

Several of the illegal transaction were captured on CCTV.

She initially denied the allegations, blaming a faulty printer for the differences in signatures.

The court heard the stolen money was used at hair salons and licensed premises, on holidays, to buy jewellery and toys, and to help with obtaining finance for the purchase of a 2009 Harley Davidson and a 2014 Suzuki car.

Her defence lawyer told the court the offending happened in the context of an abusive relationship and she was remorseful.

According to a psychological report tendered to the court, the 35-year-old was diagnosed with persistent depression and PTSD.

The court was told she had been bullied into earning more and had stolen the money as a way of keeping her partner happy.

Gympie District Court heard Alicia Jill McDonald was working as a personal banker at Gympie’s Westpac branch when she defrauded the customers of their money. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Christian Gilles

She had also suffered significant trauma in her youth, including witnessing the suicide of a friend’s father.

Judge Nathan Jarro called McDonald’s offending “deceptive” and a “terrible breach of trust”.

He acknowledged the finding of the report, and that jailing the 35-year-old would also be hard on her and her children.

She had no previous criminal history.

McDonald had previously pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud, including one for an amount of more than $100,000, in May 2023.

Her sentencing was delayed due to her pregnancy.

On Thursday afternoon Judge Jarro sentenced her to four-and-a-half years’ jail, to be suspended for five years after she served 12 months.

While she offered to pay restitution to Westpac, Judge Jarro said she was not in a financial position to be able to do so.