A FORMER teaching assistant who let his bank account be used for an £11,000 internet scam has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Ex-classroom worker Wade Elliott, 24, was left short of money after being released from a temporary position at the end of the summer term, Burnley Crown Court was told.

And so when a ‘friend’ he met in Manchester offered to loan him £700, he gave him his bank account details, the court heard.

Elliott, 24, of Regent Street, Nelson, then failed to act when he noticed “a substantial amount more” showing up on his balance.

Prosecutor Lisa Worsley said the defendant also turned a blind eye when his ‘friend’ began asking him to transfer sums to his own bank later.

An investigation uncovered the fact that his ‘friend’ had been conning would-be househunters on the website Gumtree out of deposit payments.

Miss Worsley said one victim, Troy Jones, had seen an apartment listed on the site, in the Coventry area, and had contacted the seller, which was recorded as ‘James Elliott’.

Mr Jones was asked to provide a range of details, via e-mail, before being asked to transfer a £2,550 deposit into a bank account in the name of Wade Elliott, the court heard.

Miss Worsley said that Mr Jones, looking to complete the move, could then find no trace of the seller, by either via a phone number or e-mail address provided as part of the transaction.

The court heard that there were five other victims, who handed over between £500 and £2,000, with similar results. Another apartment, in the Whitworth Street area of Manchester city centre, was also offered for sale as part of the scam.

Mark Stuart, defending said his client, who has no previous convictions, would pay dearly for his “stupid, foolish and criminal” actions.

His hopes of being a teaching assistant were now remote as a result of his offending, as they would show up in any future criminal records checks, he added.

Mr Stuart said that while the fraud itself may be considered sophisticated, in its execution, the defendant had performed a limited role in the overall offence, under the direction of a third party.

The court heard investigations were still ongoing into Elliott’s ‘friend’.

Elliott admitted to six money laundering charges, alleged to have taken place between July 19 and August 30 last year.

Passing sentence, Judge Sara Dodd said: “You have lost your good name, your good character and you have lost the prospect of doing the job which you wanted to do for so long.”

Eliott was given a six-month prison term, suspended for 12 months, and ordered to complete 80 hours community service.