Bank manager jailed nine years for $3m theft
By Melanie Petrinec Cairns Post February 28, 2012 4:01PM
A NORTH Queensland bank manager has been sentenced to nine years' jail for stealing $3 million from his customers to feed his gambling and shopping addictions.
- Colin John Carleton pleads to guilty to $3m theft
- Stole from customers for 16 years
- Sentenced to nine years in jail
Colin John Carleton, 56, had pleaded guilty to one charge of stealing as a servant.
Carleton made headlines nationwide when he was reported missing in July 2010, and it was later revealed he had stolen from the Atherton Tableland branch of Bendigo Bank, which he managed for 19 years.
The father of three was found camping out at Cape Tribulation on July 25, 2010, and confessed to police he had been stealing from customers' bank accounts for 16 years.
The court heard covered his tracks by transferring money between accounts, and intercepting bank statements before creating new ones to be sent out.
Carleton used the money to feed his gambling addiction, and also compulsively purchased tools and meat.