A DYING alcoholic who presented a forged cheque for £46,000 at a bank counter in Epsom has been jailed for 19 months.

Ivan Friend, 39, was described as the mule in a major criminal operation, being tricked into the fraud by a man called Graham who took advantage of his alcoholism.

Guildford Crown Court heard on Thursday that Friend did not stand to earn a penny from the scheme, only a drink promised to him by Graham.

The scam, involving Friend paying a forged cheque from the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce into an account set up under false details, was uncovered when he botched his role in the operation, the court was told.

Laura Plant, prosecuting, said Friend had opened an account at Lloyds TSB in Epsom on June 4 last year, telling staff he was a doctor and a teacher but had no money to open the account with. 

He returned 10 days later, she added, with the cheque for £46,000.

“His [Friend’s] behaviour alerted staff, not only because of what he said but because of his manner," Ms Plant said.

"The cashier was so suspicious he followed Mr Friend out of the bank and saw him telling another man, ‘I cannot do this, I am scared'.”

Friend then called the bank repeatedly, Ms Plant added, asking whether the money had cleared and could be withdrawn.

“The bank’s financial crime team told him he could come in to the branch to access the funds,” Ms Plant said. “When he did, the police were waiting to arrest him.”

Liver damage

Sarah Fawcett, defending, told the court her client had been plied with drink by a "manipulative" man who "took advantage" of his "vulnerability and desperation".

“This man preyed on Mr Friend because he is so naïve, pathetic and easily led, and because of his alcoholism,” she added.

“He [Friend] was so clumsy in his attempts to pay in the cheque that the suspicions of the staff were immediately aroused and they never processed the cheque.”

Ms Fawcett said that Friend, from Hampstead, north London, went to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings four times a week to act as an warning to others.

He had worked as a laboratory technician, she said, but was made redundant and started drinking.

“Alcohol took over,” she added. “It has ruined his life. He is not a menace or a danger to society – he is at worst a nuisance, and a problem to himself.”

Probation officer Jan West told the judge that Friend was "too far gone" for the service to offer him any help.

“He is a chronic, entrenched alcoholic with a grossly enlarged liver which medication has not been able to reduce,” she said.

Ms West said Friend has been treated in hospital numerous times, most recently after he was picked up by the police when he started hallucinating in the street.

“If he was given an immediate custodial sentence he would need to go straight to the medical wing of the prison,” she said. “Someone with the tolerance to alcohol that he has cannot immediately go without, because his liver will fail and he could die.

“However, he has been told that his liver damage is so severe that if he continues to drink then he will die. He is too far gone for the probation service to help him any more.”

Sentencing, Judge Peter Moss told Friend: “What you are doing to yourself is serious. You will die unless you get yourself together and take your life in hand.

“It is apparent that you have not seen the light, and have no intention of doing so. You need medical intervention just to stay alive. You need to stop drinking, but doing so would probably cause your death. You are your own worst enemy.”

Friend, who has previous convictions including shoplifting, was jailed for 19 months, reduced from 24 months because of his guilty plea. He will serve half his sentence on licence.