Kelly Kershaw, a 54-year-old building society cashier in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, was ordered to repay £12,630 after stealing at least £8,605 from elderly and vulnerable customers. Colleagues noticed discrepancies when they observed her lavish holiday photos on Facebook, leading to an internal investigation by Nationwide that identified five victims. Kershaw admitted to the fraud and was initially jailed for 16 months in May; she now faces additional penalties if she fails to repay within three months.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-10-09,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Kelly Kershaw, a 54-year-old cashier at Nationwide building society in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, was ordered by Judge Nicola Jones to repay £12,630 within three months or face an additional five months in prison. This repayment covers the amount that the building society had to reimburse customers after Kershaw stole at least £8,605 from them over 11 months. She admitted to five counts of fraud and was initially jailed for 16 months in May. Her fraudulent activities included forging signatures, such as that of a man with learning disabilities who lost £6,300. Kershaw's crimes were discovered when her colleagues noticed holiday photos on her Facebook page showing trips to Paris, Tuscany, and Dubai. Judge Timothy Petts emphasized the need for deterrence against similar actions by other cashiers.
Written for “Bank Employee Fraud Conviction” on 2026-10-09,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
- Published
A building society cashier who stole thousands of pounds from customers to pay for "lavish" holidays has been ordered to repay more than £12,000.
asserted
who → publish → 12,000
Kelly Kershaw, 54, took at least £8,605 from vulnerable and elderly customers at Nationwide in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, even forging the signature of a man with learning disabilities.
asserted
Kershaw → take → disabilities
Kershaw admitted five counts of fraud after colleagues spotted Facebook posts of her on safari in Africa, and on trips to Paris, Tuscany and Dubai.
asserted
colleagues → admit → Paris
She was jailed for 16 months in May but returned to Caernarfon Crown Court for a Proceeds of Crime Act, external hearing, and told to pay back £12,630 - the amount that the building society had to reimburse customers.
uncertain
society → jail → customers
Judge Nicola Jones ordered Kershaw to repay the sum within three months or face a further five months in prison.
asserted
Jones → order → prison
The mother-of-two posted pictures of skiing trips, safaris and romantic European getaways on her Facebook page and boasted she was "living and loving life one adventure at a time."
asserted
she → post → time
Kershaw's victims included an 85-year-old man who had lost some "cognitive abilities" after suffering a stroke - and she stole £6,300 from him.
asserted
she → include → him
On one occasion, he came to the branch asking to withdraw £200, but Kershaw logged the withdrawal as £500 and pocketed £300 herself.
asserted
Kershaw → come → 300
Another victim was a 49-year-old man with learning difficulties who lost £1,400 to Kershaw - he had his bank card kept in the branch as he was a previous victim of fraud.
asserted
he → lose → fraud
During the May hearing, prosecutor Elen Owen said Kershaw had been transferred to work at the branch in June 2020, which had a "high number of vulnerable customers."
uncertain
which → say → customers
"After a while co-workers noticed the defendant appeared to have a lavish lifestyle," she said.
asserted
she → notice → lifestyle
"She was regularly gong on expensive foreign holidays and there were other indications of extravagant spending."
asserted
She → gong → spending
Owen said "due to the suspicions raised" an internal probe was launched by Nationwide and identified five victims.
asserted
probe → say → victims
She said Kershaw, who also drove a personalised BMW convertible, would process cash withdrawals from accounts but pocket either some or all of the money from herself.
asserted
who → say → herself
Owen said Kershaw was interviewed by a financial investigator in November 2024 and admitted what she had done and was arrested by police.
asserted
she → say → police
"The total amount which can be shown to be taken fraudulently is £8,605, the building society did however reimburse customers to the total of £12,630," said Owen.
asserted
Owen → show → 12,630
Kershaw admitted five counts of fraud.
asserted
Kershaw → admit → fraud
Defence barrister Amy Edwards said Kershaw was suffering from a "compulsive spending addiction" at the time.
asserted
Kershaw → say → time
"She gave a full and frank admission to the offence and showed remorse to each of her victims.
asserted
She → give → victims
That is genuine remorse and regret for what she did," said Edwards.
asserted
Edwards → say → what
Judge Timothy Petts said Kershaw needed to be jailed as a "deterrent" to other cashiers so as to "prevent others from doing the same".
He told her: "While working as a building society cashier in Caernarfon you systematically stole £8,605 from five elderly or vulnerable customers over a period of 11 months.
"
asserted
you → say → months
Your pattern of offending was repeated.
asserted
pattern → repeat → offending
You forged peoples signatures or you would take their card to withdraw a large sum from the account and only hand over part of it.
"
asserted
you → forge → it
You were asked why you targeted those people in particular, you said they were 'easy targets who wouldn't notice the money going from their accounts.
asserted
money → ask → accounts
"The reality is you only stopped stealing money because suspicions were raised about your lifestyle, investigations took place and your fraud was discovered."
asserted
fraud → stop → place
The Aporia
