A judge has warned that people who allow their bank accounts to be used by criminals "will now go to prison''.
Judge Neil Rafferty was speaking after handing west Belfast 'money' mule' Louise Branney an 18 month prison sentence suspended for three years for her role in an organised bank fraud.
Branney (34), from Locan Street off the Falls Road, pleaded guilty to acquiring £10,000 of criminal property and eight charges of fraud by false representation.
Belfast Crown Court heard that the bank fraud victim had almost £47,000 stolen from an account in January last year.
Prosecutor Philip Henry said mother-of-two Branney, who has a clear criminal record, then had £10,000 deposited in her bank account and over a 10-hour period she withdrew the money in Euro at a number of bureau de changes.
She claimed to police that she "met a man in a pub called Sean'' who asked for her bank details and later turned up at her house.
The claim was rejected by the prosecution and Judge Rafferty, who told the sobbing defendant: "Do not for one moment think that I came down in the last shower of rain.
"To think that an intelligent and capable woman, capable of having a 17-year work history, and two kids, is going to make her account details available to 'Sean from the pub'. Would you believe that? The answer is no.''
The judge said that without people like Branney "who are prepared to sacrifice their good name and their liberty and who have legitimate and well established bank accounts, these offences cannot happen. That's why people like you get used.''
Judge Rafferty then warned: "I want to put people on notice that that this type of offending in the future will attract significant deterrent sentences because the message must go out that people who allow the use of their bank details to perpetuate criminal frauds will go to prison. It's the only way to stop it.''
Before Branney was freed, the judge told her: "A little word of advice: there is no such thing in life as a free lunch. If it looks too good to be true, by and large it is too good to be true.''