A Nationwide branch manager defrauded elderly customers out of their life savings by setting up bogus standing orders for hundreds of thousands of pounds, the Old Bailey has heard.
Hugo Mbaeri, 25, on trial for fraud by abuse of position and conspiracy to commit fraud, allegedly handed over customer names, account details and signatures to a gang of fraudsters while he was working at Nationwide Building Society.
He stood in the dock alongside seven others who are accused of using their accounts to siphon the funds away. The alleged ringleader Olawabiyi Ayanwale, who was not before the court, set up standing orders by impersonating the victims, it was claimed.
Abiola Balogun, 22, Gideon Boateng, 19, Tevin Campbell, 20, Joshua Clark, 20, Rebecca Jack, 21, Patrick Reddington, 20, and Christiana Tella, 19, were allegedly paid approximately £300 each for letting the fraudsters use their bank accounts.
Prosecutor Jonathan Polnay described it as a “nasty little fraud” that “deliberately targeted elderly people with the aim of clearing them out of their life savings.
“A fraud has taken place on these people, the only question is were these defendants part of it or not.
“Mr Mbaeri is the inside man in this fraud and the remaining defendants in the dock allowed their accounts to be used for the stolen money to be passed through.”
He said it was not particularly sophisticated but if the fraud had not been detected, it would have netted the fraudsters hundreds of thousands of pounds and caused a loss in life savings to the victims.
Mr Mbaeri used the bank’s computer system to access nine customers’ details and signatures which he sold on to the fraudsters, the court was told.
He worked as a cashier at the Fareham branch in Hampshire until February 2013 when he was promoted to branch manager in Gosport, Hampshire.
The fraud was allegedly carried out from May 2012 to May 2013 and many of the victims were elderly or vulnerable, four were in their 80s and another three were over 65.
Mr Polnay said: “The records show Mr Mbaeri and not anybody else was the one person who accessed all the signature details for all the people who were victims of the fraud.
“The information was used to set up false standing orders by impersonating those people.
“Undoubtedly there were other people involved in the fraud as well who recruited people to allow their accounts to be used in the fraud.
“There was an agreement to impersonate Nationwide customers, Olawabiyi Ayanwale was the ringleader and a part of that plan was Mr Mbaeri. He agreed that the signatures and details he obtained would be put to that use.”
Standing orders for approximately £2,500 were set up from each of the victims’ accounts, the court was told.
The money was siphoned through the holding accounts before it was withdrawn in cash.
Korrine Bright, 23, of Lewisham, South East London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud and will be sentenced at the end of the trial.
Mbaeri, of Ashby Place, Portsmouth, denies fraud by abuse of position and conspiracy to commit fraud.
Balogun, of North London; Boateng, of Borehamwood, Herts; Campbell, of Enfield, North London; Clark, of Tottenham, North London; Jack, of Marlow, Bucks; Reddington, of Lee, South East London; and Tella, of Hounslow, West London, all deny aiding and abetting fraud.
