JP Morgan Bournemouth manager Kevin Emerson jailed for fraud and theft

Kevin Emerson held a "position of absolute trust" at the bank, the judge said

A former senior manager at JP Morgan has been jailed for stealing more than £100,000 from the bank.

Kevin Emerson, 62, admitted fraud by abuse of position and theft while working at the multinational bank's offices in Bournemouth.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard he stole cheques worth more than £118,000 to fund gambling debts. He also committed fraud in a bid to hide a mistake made in a financial transfer.

He was sentenced to 28 months in jail.

The court heard Emerson, from Verwood, had worked for the bank for 33 years - initially in London and then at its premises at Chaseside, Bournemouth.

He stole money amounting to more than £118,000 by writing cheques to credit card companies between 2002 and 2006.

Kevin Emerson was sentenced to more than two years in prison

The fraud related to a mistake Emerson accidentally made in making a transaction for £100m, rather than $100m. It resulted in a loss to the company of £540,000 due to a change in the exchange rate.

Fearing he would lose his job, he then kept fraudulently transferring money between two different accounts over 10 years to avoid being found out.

The offences came to light after Emerson had retired.

Passing sentence, judge Stephen Climie said Emerson had been in a "position of absolute trust" at the bank where he was seen as an "esteemed and valued colleague".

"It's clear despite your positive attributes you have lived for many years with a personal demon, namely a gambling addiction."

He told him, the stolen funds "unquestionably facilitated, if not fuelled, your addiction".

A JP Morgan spokesman declined to comment on the case.

Kevin Emerson worked at the JP Morgan offices in Bournemouth