Callous fraudster, 27, who stole £25,000 from OAPs by pretending to be from Virgin Money is facing jail
- Paul McEnhill, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, stole the money from two pensioners
A callous fraudster who targeted an elderly couple in a brazen banking scam is facing jail.
Paul McEnhill received money from Thomas Docherty, 73, and Margaret Baillie, 82, after tricking them into transferring almost £25,000.
Mr Docherty, of East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, received a phone call from a man who said his name was Malcolm and was head of Virgin Money's CID department.
The caller told the pensioner £5,000 had been swiped from his account and to get it back he would have to make a transaction to help Virgin Money identify a rogue employee who had stolen the cash.
Mr Docherty was told not to tell anyone. When he questioned the mystery caller he was given a number to call where a person would confirm 'Malcolm' as head of Virgin Money's CID unit.
Paul McEnhill (pictured) received money from Thomas Docherty, 73, and Margaret Baillie, 82, after tricking them into transferring almost £25,000
McEnhill, 27, of Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court (pictured) and admitted the fraud, which saw him obtain a total of £24,140 from his victims
The hoax caller then told Mr Docherty to go to a bank branch and transfer £4,900 and say the money was for his granddaughter.
Mr Docherty was then told his wife's account had been targeted and ordered to transfer a further £9,500. But bank staff became suspicious at the amount of money being moved and called in police in October 2022.
McEnhill, 27, of Newton Mearns, Renfrewshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted the fraud, which saw him obtain a total of £24,140 from his victims.
Police tracked him down after it emerged that he had used his own bank details for one of the transfers.
The court heard that £9,500 has been returned to Mr Docherty.
Sheriff John Speir deferred sentence on McEnhill until November for reports and continued bail.
The sheriff told him: 'Given their age, this must have been a very distressing experience for them both.
'You have pled guilty to what in any view is a predatory financial crime on people who are vulnerable because of their age and you should be under no illusion that all options, including a custodial sentence, are going to be open to me.'
McEnhill's former partner Caitlin Fordyce, 25, had her not guilty plea accepted by prosecutors.
Virgin Money declined to comment.
