A NAB employee who exploited elderly customers’ trust to steal nearly $190,000 by ordering replacement debit cards in their names and pocketing the cash has appeared in court.
Monique Dufty was just 20 when she targeted six vulnerable customers at the bank’s Launceston branch throughout 2023, using her position as a customer adviser to access their accounts.
The Supreme Court heard Dufty preyed on select customers who came into the branch for help – people without internet access who were unlikely to notice suspicious transactions online.
In her most brazen act, Dufty ordered a replacement debit card for one customer and intercepted it when it arrived at the branch.
She then used the card 62 times, spending $58,691 on herself.
She repeated the tactic with another customer’s card, making five fraudulent transactions.
Dufty also made direct withdrawals from customer accounts using her employee login and transferred funds between accounts in crude attempts to cover her tracks.
The total theft reached $187,537. She splashed $36,000 on a car and used the rest to bankroll a lifestyle beyond her means.
Justice Michael Brett said Dufty had admitted to police she knew her elderly victims didn’t use internet banking and would be slow to detect the fraud.
“There is no question that this is a serious case of fraud,” he said.
“It constituted a significant breach of the trust placed in you by your employer and the customers.”
The scheme unravelled when one victim, helped by a relative, queried suspicious transactions on their account.
NAB immediately suspended Dufty and later sacked her. The bank reimbursed all victims.
Despite the seriousness of the offences, on October 13 Justice Brett handed Dufty a 21-month suspended sentence.
He noted she had suffered childhood abuse and lives with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder.
A forensic psychologist told the court Dufty’s PTSD left her susceptible to “stimulus-seeking and disassociation” and impaired her decision-making.
Since being caught, Dufty has moved to Queensland, where she plays for an Australian rules football club with potential AFLW pathways.
Glowing character references from club officials convinced the judge she deserved a “second chance”.
“Clearly, you have impressed these people to the point where they at least believe that you would not waste such an opportunity,” Justice Brett said.
“In my view, an immediate term of incarceration would jeopardise your efforts to rehabilitate.”
“A suspended sentence of imprisonment will both mark the objective seriousness of the crimes but will provide the opportunity for you to avoid actually serve the time in prison.”
Dufty must also compensate NAB, though the court heard repayment was unlikely.
