A finance worker who stole £75,000 from his dead bank customers to fund a ‘lavish lifestyle’ was caught out by his girlfriend’s social media posts.
Corey Casagrande, 37, used the stolen money to fund his gambling addiction and expensive holidays which his girlfriend posted all over social media.
The father-of-three worked as a team leader for Target Financial Services which provided a range of services for big names like the BBC, Barclays, and Credit Suisse.
During an internal investigation, the Facebook account of Casagrande’s girlfriend Jemma Connor – who also worked for the firm – was checked.
Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard ‘entries that suggested that she had been spending large amounts of money and living a lavish lifestyle’ were found.
This included pictures of holidays and of Christian Louboutin designer shoes.
The court heard Casagrande had a ‘sophisticated’ understanding of the internal systems of the company and used fake documents from real solicitors to steal the money from dead customers.
Prosecutor Hashim Salmman said that the firm launched an internal investigation when it became aware of possible irregularities.
It found that £75,000 had been taken from three different accounts belonging to deceased customers of Credit Suisse.
The money had been paid to third parties who had submitted claim forms accompanied by solicitors signed letters.
But the solicitors involved showed they had no knowledge of the documents bearing their names.
After being exposed by the social media posts, Casagrande was then interviewed and dismissed after failing to appear for a disciplinary hearing.
Miss Connor and another female employee were dismissed from the firm after the internal investigation, the court heard.
Casagrande admitted fraud by abuse of position for the crimes which occurred in 2020.
Amelia Pike, defending, said Casagrande committed the fraud ‘at the peak of addiction’ to gambling while he was ‘living the lifestyle that accompanies it.’
Ms Pike said that he was deeply ashamed of his actions and his partner was in the early stages of a pregnancy.
Casagrande was previously jailed for working as a cocaine courier when he and Connor were caught smuggling cocaine from Liverpool to South Wales but the court heard he had ‘turned his life around’ since being released from prison.
She added that he has tried to ‘started afresh’ and started his own construction business – which has three employees.
Recorder Carl Harrison told Casagrande it was clear he was motivated by a financial desire to pay off debts and also fund a ‘lavish lifestyle’.
Casagrande of Duffryn, Newport, was handed a 20 month suspended sentence and ordered to complete 80 hours of unpaid work.