GABRIEL: PERSONAL BANKER JAILED FOR LEAKING CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO FRAUDSTER

A personal banker who leaked details of a £500,000 customer account to a fraudster was jailed for nine months today (Fri).

Wesley Gabriel, 31, was paid £50 each time he accessed information on the Barclays account system.

In November and December 2009 Gabriel, who worked at the Wembley High Road branch, tipped-off his crooked contact about one account containing £220,000 and a second with a balance of £586,000.

Although the details were passed on, no money was taken from the accounts.

Gabriel was caught out in May last year when his friend Vernon Mitchell, 39, tried to transfer £400,000 at the Wembley branch using false details, the Old Bailey heard.

Police traced Mitchell to another fraudster, who had been in contact Gabriel.

Officers found text messages received on Gabriel’s phone, which included: ‘Please print out balance for me or write down all on account.’

Gabriel was arrested and was subsequently dismissed from his post at Barclays, which he had held in 2006, in January of this year.

He admitted a single charge of fraud by abuse of position between the dates November 24 and December 31, 2009.

Daniel Kerish, mitigating, said Gabriel had only accessed accounts on two occasions and had been forced to do it because he was under ‘financial pressure’.

The court heard his partner gave birth to a baby girl last month.

‘He bitterly regrets this incident,’ said Mr Kerish.

He had attempted to persuade Judge Stephen Kramer QC to follow the recommendation of a probation officer and suspend any sentence.

But as he jailed Gabriel, the judge said the offence was so serious that only an immediate custodial sentence could be justified.

‘The public must have an unshakeable confidence in those who work in banks in responsible positions as you did.

‘You were a personal banker to Barclays bank. At the behest of a friend of yours you accessed and passed on details of customers accounts to him to enable him to carry out a fraud.

‘The customers had substantial amounts of money in their accounts. Whether you knew the precise detail or not of the fraud he was proposing to carry out it must have been perfectly plain this was highly unlawful and illegitimate.

‘You abused the trust placed in you.’

Gabriel, of (42) Hazel Tree Lane, Northolt, Middlesex, will serve half his sentence before being released on licence.

Mitchell, of £6) Swan House, (209) High Street, Enfield, north London, has admitted conspiracy to commit fraud and fraud by false representation.

He failed to attend court for today’s sentencing hearing and the judge issue a warrant for his arrest.

ENDS