A bank clerk who gave fraudsters access to a bank’s computer systems as part of a £1 million scam has been jailed for four years.
Hans Patterson-Mensah, 24, was sentenced following an investigation by the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU).
The bank clerk, who worked at NatWest, conspired with fraudsters and granted them access into a branch in Staines. On one occasion Mr Patterson-Mensah accompanied an unidentified man into an interview room who inserted a KVM (keyboard, video and mouse) switch into a computer which gave the criminals access to the bank’s internal systems.
False deposits
The pair made entries into the computer system to make it look as if customers targeted by the fraudsters had paid large sums into their accounts, ranging from £50,000 to £100,000. These false deposits totalled £1,089,000, and the fraudsters had instant access to the money.
Bank staff spotted the fraud in their end of day audit and recovered most of the money, with only £6,000 remaining missing. Patterson-Mensah was identified on CCTV leading a man into an interview room on both 8 September and 24 August 2012, with investigations finding that the earlier attempt was a test-run for the actual attack.
Patterson-Mensah was found guilty of fraud by abuse of a position of trust following trial at The Old Bailey.
DCI Dave Carter, Head of the DCPCU, said: “This is a particularly serious crime because it involves a person in a position of trust abusing the faith placed in him to give fraudsters access to large sums of money. The vigilance of his co-workers at the bank ensured that he did not succeed, and I am pleased
For further information please visit the Financial Fraud Action UK website.
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To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
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