Assistant bank manager jailed for 20 months
(CNS): A local man who stole just under CI$20,000 over a three-year period when he was employed as an assistant manager at Cayman National Bank was handed a 20-month prison term on Tuesday in Summary Court. Dale Antonio Allen (29) pleaded guilty last year to more than two dozen counts of money laundering, obtaining property by deception and false accounting. The magistrate described Allen’s theft as “a sustained course of deceit”, where he manipulated the internal systems that he knew very well to take cash without being detected.
Magistrate Valdis Foldats, raised a number of aggravating factors in the case, from the breach of trust to the negative impact this kind of offending has on the country as a whole, and agreed with other local court findings that the banking sector is the cornerstone of the Cayman economy.
The court heard that Allen had been a long-term, well-liked and trusted employee at the bank. But his offending began following an upsetting and unfavourable divorce settlement that placed him in financial difficulties. Allen began stealing small amounts by reissuing and repurchasing cheques and withdrawing the cash without anyone noticing.
It was not until another bank employee came across an irregularity with a client’s mortgage account, where $2,000 paid in appeared to have been re-withdrawn, that Allen was confronted and a wider probe was launched. At first, he lied and implied that the client had colluded with him to take money from the account but this turned out to be false and in the end, when Allen’s historical criminality was exposed, he came clean.
He was arrested and charged and pleaded guilty at a court appearance in August, admitting that he had hit very difficult financial circumstances and he was not stealing to fund an extravagant lifestyle but to meet the terms imposed on him by the divorce.
Following his admissions, there were delays in the sentencing caused by new precedents regarding sentencing for theft from the Court of Appeal, as well as legal wrangling over the details of the crime, the actual amounts and charges, which led to adjustments in the final counts that went before the court. In the end, Allen was charged with stealing just over CI$19,870 and was remanded in custody earlier this month.
The court heard that before he was caught, Allen had no previous convictions and until his divorce had been a solid employee at the bank who had worked hard and climbed the corporate ladder. Magistrate Foldats acknowledged the difficulties that Allen faced with the break-up of his family and the difficult situation he found himself in, but said that “turning to crime to solve problems cannot be tolerated”.
He pointed out that bank employees must be trusted. Foldats said people working in the financial sector face temptation every day but the public expects them to resist that temptation.
Given the circumstances of the crime, the magistrate arrived at a total sentence of thirty months, with all counts running concurrently. But he emphasised Allen’s guilty pleas, which he said were an important part of the sentencing and gave him full credit, reducing his jail time to 20 months to include time already served.
Category: Local News
Get a decent job and then steal from it…. Like what kind of mastermind is Dale that he thought he could continue thieving and not be caught.
Dale you were given a great opportunity and you failed. Your excuse of ‘divorce’ is no excuse. So many have gone before you and survived divorce without thieving from their employer. Do you realize that you have ruined your life and will never get a decent job now without lying about your prison sentence??
If you’re thinking about stealing from your employer, just remember what happens when you get caught. It is FOREVER!! There are no do-overs here.
What were you thinking? I’ll bet your ex is glad she’s not with you now.
Harsh I know but hopefully your brethren can learn from your mistakes.
Given DPP appealed the sentence of Aspinall – 42 months – for dishonesty in a position of trust in the financial sector – can we assume they will appeal a sentence of 20 months?
Given that Aspinall stole a heck of a lot more money for a heck of a lot less reason, DPP should probably not appeal it.
And he paid it all back, with interest, which Dale did not. So at the end of the day, the victims are out of pocket by $20K more in Dales case. As for the reason – I hadn’t appreciated that getting divorced entitled you take other peoples money. The magistrate specifically said it didn’t. So how come the sentences are so different? And why should DPPs response be different, pray tell.
As the Judge said , it’s the financial corner that the mistrust is a big factor.
Why didn’t he impose a statement sentence to send a message to all that this kind of behavior wouldn’t be tolerated in any corner of the Islands.
Divorce should be no excuse for this kind of conduct, but trying to be and living like the Jones would be.
CNS – Dale is definitely not 29.
Another news outlet said his age was around 40.
Signed,
Sum Ting Wong
in financial difficulty with unreasonable financial difficulty in divorce….then they sentence….i been there. divorce is horrible on a man. i sufferred 6 yrs financially, but did not turn to crime if a woman put a gun to my head, i still wouldnt marry her or any woman. and yes. i am caymanian…amen to that!
Maybe we should have a march & protest! A women would never do anything wrong now.
Divorce is horrible on a man?! With all the women out there that have severe financial difficulties as the financial responsibility is on them to take care of the children with menial child support mandated – if the idol actually pays.
Both parties suffer in a divorce. Not just the woman, not just the man.
20 years?…he should have ran over some people and made up a cock and bull story and then be free in 6 months?
cayman justice= no justice
You do know the difference between years and months don’t you?
Reading is not for everyone. Have you tried picture books?
months dude..
And the Cayman education system pumps out another Einstein here…
So sad. I am usually one of the first people to not have sympathy for one that steals, but I do have for Mr Allen. I do believe that he acted on frustration, need, love and compulsion. Such a nice young man to everyone who fell in the wrong trap. He was so professional on his job and earned the respect of so many. Sometimes when we have these problems rather than keeping them to ourselves we should share them and most likely we could get some assistance. I do believe the man acted out of frustration and dire need. So sorry, but I do believe he will use this experience to make him a better man.
Wolf in Sheep clothing .
What a joke? 20 months after he first tried to use a client as his shield from being solely responsible for the criminal activity over a sustained period. He is a coward who should be lucky he only got 20 months.
Pathetic apologist with the sort of justification mentality that has dragged down the Caribbean region. Pindlingitis.
7:03 that is the most laughable comment I’ve read on CNS. This type of incident is bringing down the Caribbean region? Really?? What, do you come out of your house once every six months? How about all of your government employees killing innocent people or wrecking cars, the insurmountable corruption in your political system. Cayman pretty much sounds like a mafia these days… But, it’s this man and his behavior that’s bringing down the Caribbean region??
Wow! The Cayman future is bleak if this is the mentality on island that will eventually be passed on to the next generation.
Now you see, if you did that as a government employee, you would get 20 months of paid vacation.
10:07. So you are saying that he wasn’t on paid leave until the conviction? It seems his case took a couple of years to be concluded.