Former Countrywide agent sentenced in fraud case

A former Countrywide lettings agent has escaped jail after pleading guilty in a fraud case.

Katie Green, 23, of Blidworth, Nottinghamshire, was working for Countrywide Residential Lettings at Annesley, when she changed the bank account details of a landlord to her own personal account, intending to make a financial gain of £4,862.50.

At Mansfield Magistrates Court, she was given a prison sentence of 12 weeks suspended for 12 months and ordered to complete 200 hours of supervised unpaid community work. She was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £80.

The court heard that the offence occurred between December 10 last year and February 5 this year.

A spokesperson for Countrywide Residential Lettings said: “We take a zero tolerance approach to any allegations of fraud or theft. Whenever appropriate, such cases are reported to the relevant authorities.

“It was due to the company’s rigorous checks and controls by its internal auditors that the suspicious activity was discovered. Thereafter, we reported the matter to the police. At no time were any client funds at risk and no losses were incurred.”