Former bank worker admits stealing almost $400k from customers

A former St George Bank worker has pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $400,000 from seven customers while employed at the Castle Towers branch in Sydney’s north-west.

A court has heart that during Maria Peloche-Melia’s 11 years at St George, she was responsible for a $20,000 cash float.

Police said this enabled her to steal money, before making a series of fraudulent withdrawals from customer’s accounts to cover her tracks.

It is alleged she targeted older customers such as Santo Napoli, who had nearly $65,000 stolen from his bank account.

When St George discovered Mrs Peloche-Melia’s fraudulent activity, it responded by temporarily freezing Mr Napoli’s account.

“They stop my account, going in and going out, so I have no money for pay anything,” Mr Napoli told 9NEWS.

St George has since agreed to reimburse Mr Napoli and the other customers defrauded by Mrs Peloche-Melia.

The accused is expected to be sentenced in early November.

Note: An earlier version of this online article included an incorrect spelling of Mrs Peloche-Melia' surname. This has been amended