Sussex man jailed after cashing in on banking blunder

The Argus / Brighton, UK

7:10pm Thursday 11th February 2010

Bryan Jones

A man who cashed in on a massive banking blunder has been jailed.

Bryan Wilson thought it was his lucky day when Barclays Bank confused him for a wealthy customer of the same name.

The bank contacted Wilson, 58, believing him to be one of their wealthiest customers, while they were reviewing their customer database.

Seizing his opportunity, Wilson assumed his richer namesake's identity and had a whopping £790,000 transferred to his own account in June 2007.

When the rich Mr Wilson discovered the money missing in September 2007, the bank called in the police.

Sussex Police's major fraud unit started a search for the fraudster but found he had fled to Thailand.

Wilson was arrested when he flew back to the UK and detectives stopped him as he arrived Heathrow airport last September.

He was yesterday sentenced to two years in jail after pleading guilty to making a false representation for gain, contrary to the Fraud Act.

Detective Constable Russ Jones, of Sussex Police's major fraud unit, said: “Bryan Wilson was an opportunist thief who took advantage of an administrative mistake.

“Any honest person would immediately have pointed out that they were not the real owner of the account but it was just bad luck that he reacted with clear criminal intent.

“This was a virtually million to one mischance, but although he initially gained control of the money, like so many thieves his attempts were doomed to failure as soon as the real Mr Wilson realised what was afoot.

“Like so many thieves, Bryan Wilson seized what he thought was the main chance, and failed.”

Since his arrest detectives have recovered all but £9,752.82 of the money from Wilson's bank account, but said that they intend to seek a confiscation order to claim back the rest of the money.

A spokesman for Barlcays Bank said: "Barclays takes stringent precautions to minimise the risk of any fraud although in this instance we haven't met the high standards we set ourselves.

“We advise our customers to check their bank accounts carefully and regularly and let us know immediately if anything seems wrong.

“Any customer who is an innocent victim of fraud will be refunded and will not be financially disadvantaged."

theargus.co.uk/news/5003461.Sussex_man_jailed_after_cashing_in_on_banking_blunder/

So come on then

What would you have done?

Money transferred in June, but missed in September?

Siam Commercial Bank has the good habit of confirming every transaction > 1 million

edit:they confirm by phone

Bet he wishes he had never gone back. Could have lived out the rest of his days on that ammount.

Love stories lkike these!!

Good try Bryan Wilson!! dam_n good try!!

Shame he didn't get away with it....but let's be fair......who wouldn't miss nearly 800k?? If the amount was a lot smaller maybe he would have gotten away with it!!

How stupid is the bank employee that transfered the money.

I wouldn't of gone back in a hurry, and even if I did it would have been via Europe over land in 1st class.

Wonder if he managed to move it all out here in time, fuc_k, whats 2 years any way? 350,000 quid a year, prob only do 1 year on good terms.

Doomed from the start? All theives get caught? As far as I can tell, he only got caught because he stupidly went BACK to the UK. Why did he do that and why are they making it look like they caught him through some form of cleverness on thier part?

I wouldn't of gone back in a hurry, and even if I did it would have been via Europe over land in 1st class.

Wonder if he managed to move it all out here in time, fuc_k, whats 2 years any way? 350,000 quid a year, prob only do 1 year on good terms.

"Since his arrest detectives have recovered all but £9,752.82 of the money from Wilson's bank account"..........try £4500 a year

I wouldn't of gone back in a hurry, and even if I did it would have been via Europe over land in 1st class.

Wonder if he managed to move it all out here in time, fuc_k, whats 2 years any way? 350,000 quid a year, prob only do 1 year on good terms.

They got it all back apart from 9,000 odd

If they hadn't he would have got a lot longer

Of course I wouldv'e taken it. But, I wouldn't of been so stupid as to go back to the U.K.

Since his arrest detectives have recovered all but £9,752.82 of the money from Wilson's bank account, but said that they intend to seek a confiscation order to claim back the rest of the money.

At least he'll always have his looks.

Just like Brian Wilson did.....

I just wonder why they have a photo of Bryan Jones in the article.....

Not so smart. If you take the risk of going to jail anyhow just take it all. No need to fee sorry for any bank.

If you take into account the interest earned,i think he has provided them with a safe two years period(recession) ....in fact you could go as to far to say he has done them a favour!

In fact it must be a record bringing 790.000 pound into Thailand and in 2 years only spending 9.000!!!

Credit were its due i think!

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What an utter idiot.

790,000 Quid in the bank and couldn't resist going back to the UK??????!!!!!!

Jeeze, what must have been going through his skull?

But hey! Don't you love the double standard applied in the UK? The poor brain dead twit has handed almost all the money back after spending a very modest amount of 9,000 Quid or so over two years. But what about the fuc_king UK politicians with their snouts in the tax payers' money stealing millions and millions?

"Oh, did I do wrong? Must have been an oversight. Here you are, I'll pay back a little and carry on in my present job until next year."

And not forgetting the bankers, who have defrauded the UK tax payers out of BILLIONS but screwing up the economy with their greed. Don't see many of them sitting behind bars.

Presumably they are all too "self-important to prosecute", whilst poor ol' insignificant Wilson ends up with two years as an example to us all.

Me? I'd have taken the cash and disappeared.

£9,700 in two years , where was he staying in a monastry or something. Responsible or what. Lucky if that would do some of us two months.

£9,700 in two years , where was he staying in a monastry or something. Responsible or what. Lucky if that would do some of us two months.

He should serve 10 years for being so stupid 60 years old !!! What an embarrassment to us seniors.

“Any honest person would immediately have pointed out that they were not the real owner of the account

For sure i would have pointed it out straight away.What you don't believe me,common give me a try.

GBP790,000 gives a reasonable interest of twenty to thirty thousand per annum so he was hardly living in a monastery.

Ironic really, as the equally incompetent ex-CEO of the RBS, SIR Fred Goodwin will receive almost the same amount this guy found in his account, except that Fred “The Shred” Goodwin will receive it once a year, for the rest of his life.

I is unfortunate that white collar crime pays and fraud and defrauding people for millions of dollars in any country in the world in the past only resulted in 2 year jail sentences. Mr. Madoff and a few others are not the rule of thumb and it is only in the past few years due to pressure on governments that white collar criminals are getting more time. If your going to commit a crime make it a white collar crime.

Since his arrest detectives have recovered all but £9,752.82 of the money from Wilson's bank account, but said that they intend to seek a confiscation order to claim back the rest of the money.

He left it in his bank account????? Couldn't he afford a mattress to put it under?

I'd have taken it and run for the hills to marry several Thai princesses with good connections.

This case is interesting.

I have an on line account with a UK bank in London.

Written in the bank's terms and conditions it mentions that if an on line customer accidentally sends money on line to a wrong account, then the responsibility is on the sender to get his/her money refunded from whoever the money was sent to at the discretion of the receiver and not the bank's responsibility.

Maybe if Mr Wilson had not done a runner and just said; I am considering this money as a gift, the bank would not had the powers legally to retrieve the money.

I had 1.75 million US$ 'accidentally' transferred into one of my bank accounts a few years ago, but the bank noticed their mistake before I did, and took it back. I kept a copy of the bank statement, and framed it..! What would I have done, if I had noticed first is a very good question.....?

Along with every inmate I think even the screws are going to ask why he returned to the UK. He's going to get some stick inside, that's for sure.

I would of kept the money and would not of gone home again. I wonder why he went home! I like crimes commited this way, it's like getting back at the establishment somehow.

I would of kept the money and would not of gone home again. I wonder why he went home! I like crimes commited this way, it's like getting back at the establishment somehow.

Stealing a guy's retirement fund to punish the establishment for you wasting your life?