Former Lloyds' online security boss Jessica Harper faces jail after admitting stealing £2.4 million

A former Lloyds bank boss in charge of online security is facing jail for a £2.4 million fraud scam.

Jessica Harper, 50, today admitted submitting false invoices over four years of £2,463,751 and then laundering the proceeds. Some of the money was spent on property in France where her mother lives.

Harper, of Croydon, south London, has cashed in her pension and shares and is currently selling her home to pay back £1m to the bank. The bank today declined to say how much money it hoped to retrieve from the formerly trusted employee.

Harper, who worked at the bank for 11 years, was given bail today and will be sentenced next month. The case is the latest blow for the bank that had to be bailed out by the taxpayer during the financial crisis and has set aside £4.27 billion for compensation for mis-selling insurance products.

Harper, wearing a black dress and beige cardigan, spoke only to confirm her name and plead guilty to the two charges. The court heard that she was responsible for a “very simple” fraud and admitted her guilt ten minutes into her first police interview.

Sue Patten, head of fraud division at the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Jessica Harper has today been convicted of the type of crime the bank employed her to combat.”

The bank declined to comment.