A West London banker who blew £280,000 on bets using stolen bank cash has paid back just £11,000, a court heard. Romilio St Clair, 43, abused his position at HSBC on Fulham Broadway to make 22 transfers from his till to an unmanned till. He then stole the money to use on gambling websites while working at the bank, between November 2017 and October 2019, Southwark Crown Court heard on Thursday (June 3).
St Clair, a married dad-of-two, hid his gambling problem from family members, but everything unravelled in early 2020 when the bank launched an internal probe into the missing money. After confessing to bosses and repaying some of the stolen money using his £11,000 pension pot, St Clair waited more than four years to have his case heard in court, apparently due to police delays.
Prosecutor Michael Bisgrove said financial records showed the money was spent on gambling, and there was little prospect of retrieving it. Defence counsel Laura Jeffrey described her client’s conduct as ‘reprehensible’, but emphasised the findings of NHS psychologist Dr Matt Gaskell who said St Clair suffered ‘a loss of cognitive control’ and ‘engaged in compulsive behaviour’.
Ms Jeffrey also argued an immediate prison sentence would force St Clair’s wife to give up her nursing job for the NHS, due to the prohibitive cost of finding childcare while she covers night shifts. Since losing his job at HSBC, St Clair has taken up work as an NHS receptionist and stood to lose that income for his family if he was imprisoned, the court was told.
Judge Sally-Ann Hales KC said she was ‘in no doubt’ about Dr Gaskell’s finding of a ‘severe and persistent’ gambling addiction.
The judge said: “In his opinion you would not have committed those offences without your addiction to gambling, which became a compulsion when you chased again and again a redemptive win. He opines your addiction is more addictive than substances.”
St Clair was charged with fraud by abuse of position and pleaded guilty at his plea and trial preparation hearing. While the case was serious enough to warrant a two-year custodial sentence, Judge Hales suspended it for two years, citing his previous good character, lack of offending in the last five years, and obligations to his wife and children.
If gambling is seriously affecting your mental health and you need help urgently find out where to get urgent help for your mental health.
You can go to a specialist gambling treatment clinic in England. There are also charities and support groups that offer free, confidential support to people who are gambling, and their friends and family.
- The National Gambling Helpline (run by GamCare) – call 0808 8020 133 for free 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for free information, support and counselling
- GambleAware – the National Gambling Support Network service
- Primary Care Gambling Service – a national service providing support for anyone experiencing gambling-related harms
- GamLearn – the Gambling Lived Experience and Recovery Network service
- Gamblers Anonymous – a local support group service that uses the 12-step approach to recovery
- Citizens Advice Bureau – a charity that can advise you on a range of issues, including finances and gambling
- ChapterOne – a charity that can provide advice and support for anyone experiencing gambling-related harms
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