Kelly Kershaw was jailed for 16 months after admitting five counts of fraud at nationwide in Caernarfon, where she stole at least £8,605 from vulnerable customers over 12 months. She was sentenced at Caernarfon Crown Court on Friday and taken into custody immediately.
Caernarfon Crown Court sentencing
Judge Timothy Petts told Kershaw: "You say you don't recognise yourself at that time, but the reality is that if you steal so much on so many occasions, then this is the person you are." He also said: "You deliberately targeted vulnerable victims, and your motivation was greed."
Kershaw, of Nefyn, Gwynedd, admitted five counts of fraud. Her victims included a 49-year-old man with learning disabilities whose bank card had been held at the branch for safe keeping after he had previously been a victim of fraud, and an 85-year-old man who had suffered a stroke.
Nationwide investigators in October 2024
The thefts ran from December 2023 to October 2024. One transaction showed how the losses built up: Kershaw logged a £200 withdrawal as £500 and kept the extra £300 herself. Nationwide began an internal investigation in October 2024 after she was suspected of forging customer signatures and processing cash withdrawals without their knowledge.
Investigators confronted her that month, and Kershaw admitted everything. She also told them the victims were "easy targets who wouldn't miss the money."
Trust at Nationwide
Amy Edwards, defending, told the court: "She is ashamed of her actions, and doesn't recognise the person she sees as having committed these crimes," while the judge said Kershaw had harmed people's trust in bank and building society staff. The case shows how a cashier with access to customer accounts could move money out over a year before the branch's own checks caught the pattern.
For Nationwide customers in Caernarfon, the immediate consequence is that Kershaw's fraud case has ended in sentence, not investigation. The court has already ruled on her conduct, and the details now sit with the branch record of what happened between December 2023 and October 2024.
