Gambling addict from Wolverhampton jailed for stealing almost £50k from bank customers across the UK

Confidence trickster Joseph Mason blamed his actions on his “pathological” gambling habit. He was sentenced at the city’s crown court after admitting 19 offences of fraud by false representation totalling £46,050 between February and October 2025.

The case related to the theft of sums of money from customers including some business accounts at Barclays bank branches including in Kidderminster, Stoke-on-Trent, London, Luton, Oxford and Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

Sentencing Mason, 48, criminal Recorder Helen Malcolm KC said: “This matter concerns nine separate victims from whom you stole £46,050. You are a man who has committed 90 previous offences of dishonesty between 2000 and 2024. The last matter was on April 19, 2024 where you were given two years and 12 weeks’ custody prior to being released.

”You were on licence when you committed these latest offences. Very significant sums of money were stolen on each occasion ranging from hundreds of pounds at the lowest to over £6,000 at the highest amount.

“Over a quarter-of-a-century period the probation service and the court have tried to help you, with various rehabilitation, community orders and imprisonment.”

“In your case the sentence is firstly aggravated by the substantial number of victims and secondly you were on licence and in the care of the probation services.”

The court heard Mason, of Boundary Way, Penn, had used cash points and in some cases used the personal details of customers, including a number of business account holders to persuade branch counter staff to give him access to money. None of the cash was recovered from Mason, but the bank reimbursed the victims.

Mitigating for the defendant barrister Mr Pierre de Garis said his gambling issues had been “pathologically diagnosed” and that Mason, a divorcee, had referred himself for treatment on his release because there was no gambling addiction rehabilitation support available to prisoners.

He said his client had a spell in the army and afterwards fell into a bad crowd.

For fraud the recorder jailed him for three years and six months on each count, to be served concurrently. He must serve at least half the term minus the time spent on remand before being released. He must pay the victims’ surcharge and was also made subject to a serious crime prevention order for five years with strict conditions to protect the public on his release.

There was no application made under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

He committed the crimes in places including Preston, Darlington, Nottingham, St Albans, Hemel Hempstead, Taunton, Banbury and Southport. The court heard he was identified on CCTV despite wearing a hat and spectacles.

Mason has previously been sentenced for similar matters in 2018, and in 2014 for impersonating jockeys.