Post by anenro on Dec 26, 2019 14:10:08 GMT 4
Ex-Barclays Bank workers stole nearly £150,000 from customers - including £40,000 from a dead man.
Hodaif Nadeem and Waseem Ahmed claimed they were acting under duress.
Two bank workers who stole thousands from customers - including a man who had died - have been locked up.
Waseem Ahmed and Hodaif Nadeem, both 22, committed a string of fraud offenses at Barclays branches in Slough and Bracknell, where they worked as apprentice cashiers.
Between April and May 2017, the devious pair defrauded customers' accounts to the value of just under £150,000; they accomplished this by transferring large sums of money into so-called ‘mule’ accounts.
They also conducted fraudulent transactions over the counter where several thousand pounds were handed over to people who were very obviously not the account holders.
During the last week of July 2017, both Ahmed and Nadeem each opened another five accounts at different banks.
These remained largely inactive until September 2017, when Ahmed’s accounts were used to funnel £29,030 of stolen funds to other bank accounts.
The accounts opened by Nadeem were not used.
Their deception came to light after Ahmed conducted just over £40,000 worth of transactions from the account of a dead man.
This led to an investigation by Barclays and subsequently Thames Valley Police.
Ahmed was arrested on August 8, 2017, while Nadeem was arrested on January 19 last year.
Following an eight-day trial in November, a jury found Ahmed guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers, and one count of unauthorized access to a computer.
Nadeem was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers.
Ahmed, of Lismore Park, Slough, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, while Nadeem, of Telford Drive, Slough, was jailed for three-and-a-half years following a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Friday (December 20).
"The sentences handed down by the court reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed by Waseem Ahmed and Hodaif Nadeem," said investigating officer, detective constable Rob Gibson.
"As bank employees, they were meant to look after the interests of the bank and its customers; their actions completely betrayed that trust and caused distress to a number of customers.
"Although the means used to select their victims was never established, they were generally elderly and, or based overseas customers.
"Ahmed and Nadeem had full access to customers’ bank accounts and there was nothing that the victims could have done to prevent their accounts being defrauded."
Turning to the raid on the dead man's account, DC Gibson branded the act as "despicable".
Outlining further details of the pair's activities, the officer continued: "During the early part of August 2017, Ahmed obtained the work login details for a former colleague which he intended to use to commit further frauds.
"Thankfully, this colleague alerted the bank which prevented any further loss to customers.
"Despite being caught out by their employers and despite having been arrested on August 8, 2017, Ahmed committed further offenses by allowing bank accounts he held in his name to be used to funnel several thousand pounds worth of stolen funds.
"It was clear the accounts owned by Nadeem had been opened for the same purpose."
Hodaif Nadeem (left) and Waseem Ahmed (right)
Both defendants claimed they were under duress while they carried out their deceptive crimes, but this was rejected by the jury who found them unanimously guilty.
DC Gibson added: "The defendants had ample opportunity to tell the police if they were being threatened, yet they did not raise this as a defense until January this year.
"I would like to thank the staff at Barclays Special Investigations team whose hard work and co-operation was instrumental in securing the convictions for fraud."
Hodaif Nadeem and Waseem Ahmed claimed they were acting under duress.
Two bank workers who stole thousands from customers - including a man who had died - have been locked up.
Waseem Ahmed and Hodaif Nadeem, both 22, committed a string of fraud offenses at Barclays branches in Slough and Bracknell, where they worked as apprentice cashiers.
Between April and May 2017, the devious pair defrauded customers' accounts to the value of just under £150,000; they accomplished this by transferring large sums of money into so-called ‘mule’ accounts.
They also conducted fraudulent transactions over the counter where several thousand pounds were handed over to people who were very obviously not the account holders.
During the last week of July 2017, both Ahmed and Nadeem each opened another five accounts at different banks.
These remained largely inactive until September 2017, when Ahmed’s accounts were used to funnel £29,030 of stolen funds to other bank accounts.
The accounts opened by Nadeem were not used.
Their deception came to light after Ahmed conducted just over £40,000 worth of transactions from the account of a dead man.
This led to an investigation by Barclays and subsequently Thames Valley Police.
Ahmed was arrested on August 8, 2017, while Nadeem was arrested on January 19 last year.
Following an eight-day trial in November, a jury found Ahmed guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud, one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers, and one count of unauthorized access to a computer.
Nadeem was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to defraud and one count of conspiracy to transfer criminal property by means of fraudulent money transfers.
Ahmed, of Lismore Park, Slough, was jailed for four-and-a-half years, while Nadeem, of Telford Drive, Slough, was jailed for three-and-a-half years following a hearing at Reading Crown Court on Friday (December 20).
"The sentences handed down by the court reflects the seriousness of the crimes committed by Waseem Ahmed and Hodaif Nadeem," said investigating officer, detective constable Rob Gibson.
"As bank employees, they were meant to look after the interests of the bank and its customers; their actions completely betrayed that trust and caused distress to a number of customers.
"Although the means used to select their victims was never established, they were generally elderly and, or based overseas customers.
"Ahmed and Nadeem had full access to customers’ bank accounts and there was nothing that the victims could have done to prevent their accounts being defrauded."
Turning to the raid on the dead man's account, DC Gibson branded the act as "despicable".
Outlining further details of the pair's activities, the officer continued: "During the early part of August 2017, Ahmed obtained the work login details for a former colleague which he intended to use to commit further frauds.
"Thankfully, this colleague alerted the bank which prevented any further loss to customers.
"Despite being caught out by their employers and despite having been arrested on August 8, 2017, Ahmed committed further offenses by allowing bank accounts he held in his name to be used to funnel several thousand pounds worth of stolen funds.
"It was clear the accounts owned by Nadeem had been opened for the same purpose."
Hodaif Nadeem (left) and Waseem Ahmed (right)
Both defendants claimed they were under duress while they carried out their deceptive crimes, but this was rejected by the jury who found them unanimously guilty.
DC Gibson added: "The defendants had ample opportunity to tell the police if they were being threatened, yet they did not raise this as a defense until January this year.
"I would like to thank the staff at Barclays Special Investigations team whose hard work and co-operation was instrumental in securing the convictions for fraud."