Two London-based criminals have been sentenced in Southwark Crown Court for a bank scam worth £130,000.

Nathan Gilbert, who was a bank employee at the time of his crimes, used his position of trust at the bank to commit fraud.

UK finance, the trade association representing around 300 British financial services firms, revealed that between 11 October 2020 and 16 September 2021, Gilbert changed bank customers’ account details and fraudulently issued bank passbooks.

He liaised with Daniel Frank to defraud several customers of the bank, which has not been named.

The two men have been sentenced for a combined total of five years and seven months in prison.

The fraud was first spotted by the bank and referred to the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) to investigate.

The DCPCU was launched in 2002 fully operational police unit with a national remit, formed as a collaboration between UK Finance, the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Service.

Officers at the Unit found that Gilbert had provided Frank with several of the bank’s customers’ details.

CCTV footage from the bank showed Frank organising for individuals to attend the bank branches that Gilbert worked at, pretending to be those customers to withdraw money or make changes to the accounts.

In October 2021, Gilbert was arrested and had his mobile phone seized for examination, with the DCPCU finding messages that linked him to the accounts of defrauded customers.

"Gilbert abused his position of trust at the bank, liaising with Frank to callously steal over £130,000 from unsuspecting victims," said detective constable Colin Calvert, who investigated the case for the DCPCU. "Fortunately, we were able to identify these criminals and bring them to justice, after working closely with the banking and finance industry."

He continued: "This sentencing is a warning to those who believe they can benefit financially from fraud, that they will be caught and punished."

Nathan Gilbert pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the UK banking industry and for committing fraud by abusing his position of trust. He received a custodial sentence of two years and three months in prison.

Daniel Frank pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the UK banking industry and received a custodial sentence of three years and four months in prison.

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