Callous fraudster who tricked pensioners in £25k Virgin Money bank scam is jailed

A heartless conman who conned an elderly couple out of a staggering £25,000 in a bold banking scam has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Paul McEnhill, aged 28, duped Thomas Docherty, 73, and Margaret Baillie, 82, into transferring hefty sums of money.

The East Kilbride, Lanarkshire resident received a call from someone purporting to be the head of Virgin Money's CID department, informing Docherty that £5,000 had vanished from his account and that to retrieve it, he needed to make a transaction to catch a dishonest employee responsible for the theft. The fraudster instructed Docherty to visit a bank branch, transfer £4,900, and claim it was for his granddaughter.

He then deceived Docherty into believing his wife's account was compromised and coerced him into transferring another £9,500. Bank employees grew wary of the large transactions and alerted the authorities in October 2022.

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Appearing at Hamilton Sheriff Court, McEnhill, from Newton Mearns, East Renfrewshire, pleaded guilty to the fraud which netted him a total of £24,140 from the couple. Sheriff John Speir declared there was no option but imprisonment and condemned the 'callous and calculated' plot, reports the Daily Record.

Depute fiscal Carla McGuire recounted how McEnhill relentlessly pursued his fraudulent activities, explaining: "He told Docherty that Baillie's account had had a further £5,000 taken from it and told Docherty he would need to access his internet banking to pay back the funds and gave Docherty a pin to access the banking which worked."

"He also asked Docherty for his 16 digit card number and told Docherty that Baillie would have to go to the bank again but he was reluctant due to her poor health but the caller was insistent that she would lose her money otherwise."

"They returned to the Rutherglen branch of Virgin Money with the caller remaining on the phone whilst they conducted the transaction."

"Docherty was recognised by a staff member and the transfer was refused on the basis that they were making such large transactions in short succession and the branch manager was made aware and phoned 999."

Police successfully tracked down McEnhill after it emerged he used his own bank details for one of the transfers. The court heard £9,500 has been returned to Docherty.

Eamonn McGeehan, defending, said: "He had a massive drug debt and was invited to become involved in this scheme as a way to clear the outstanding debt."

"He did not appreciate the nature of the scheme and is embarrassed and remorseful but recognises this is a serious matter and that the custodial threshold has been met."

Sheriff Speir said: "You engaged in a callous and calculated scheme to deprive elderly victims out of their savings, so much so that the consequences for them were the impact on their mental health and their financial situation."

Virgin Money declined to comment.