Kuol Mawien Kuol, 24, formerly of Shepparton, is facing 38 charges, including many of dishonestly obtaining money by deception, many of producing a document with misleading material, several of committing an indictable offence while on bail and making false documents.
It is alleged he moved money into his own bank account as well as two other associates.
Police allege Kuol stole $101,316.20 in total from customer’s accounts, transferring the money into his own and other associate’s accounts.
Of this money, $28,280 was returned when a customer realised the money was missing, $29,416 was moved into two of Kuol’s associates’ bank accounts and the remainder into Kuol’s.
He successfully applied for bail in Shepparton Magistrates’ Court, however it came with the proviso of a $20,000 surety being put forward.
The court was told Kuol started working as a National Australia Bank customer adviser at the Shepparton branch in November, 2018, and later was seconded to the Kyabram branch between February 2020 and the end of January 2021.
Among his alleged victims were a 76-year-old, a 95-year-old war veteran, a 30-year-old, a Shepparton business, a 75-year-old and an 84-year-old.
Prosecutor Samantha Owen told the court that Kuol moved $30,000 from the 76-year-old customer’s account after the man visited the bank in Kyabram on November 10, 2020.
It is also alleged Kuol withdrew $28,700 from a 95-year-old man’s account in Kyabram between November 25 and December 31, 2020.
When the 95-year-old went to the bank on January 4 to report odd withdrawals, Kuol returned the money to the man’s account, saying it was an error, Ms Owen said.
The court was told Kuol then withdrew $28,200 from the 76-year-old man’s account on January 5, while making another $11,800 withdrawal from the man’s bank account on January 25.
On February 25, police allege Kuol deposited $816.20 into one of his associate’s accounts – after a Shepparton business tried to bank $741.20 into its own account and a woman tried to deposit $75 cash into her own account.
On February 10, Kuol withdrew $2000 more than what an 84-year-old woman had requested be withdrawn from her account and deposited it in an associate’s account, Ms Owen said.
The court was told in two separate incident when Kuol was stopped by police for speeding, he gave his name as, and showed a licence belonging to, his bother Alou Kuol, a soccer megastar who plays for VfB Stuttgart in Germany.
Ms Owen said Kuol also moved to the Melbourne suburb of Glenroy against his bail conditions and a police search of his home there found cocaine and two mobile phones that he refused to give police access to.
Kuol’s solicitor Aaron Eidelson told the court his client suffered from PTSD, depression and anxiety and had been in Sudan when civil war broke out in 2013.
He also said Kuol no longer worked for the bank and therefore couldn’t commit further deception crimes.
He also said he could take part in programs through the Court Integrated Services Program.
Mr Eidelson said Kuol had spent 30 days in prison already and argued for bail with stringent conditions, including a surety to be paid by one of Kuol’s family members.
Magistrate Peter Mithen granted bail, which included a surety of $20,000 to be paid – well above the $10,000 the defence had suggested.
Kuol must also live in Glenroy, report to police twice a week, not leave Victoria, not go to Shepparton or Kyabram, not associate with the two men he had transferred money to, and comply with the Court Integrated Services Program.
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