HSBC account handler faces jail over failed £300,000 embezzlement

Bryan Mearns, 43, handled phone inquiries from HSBC Premier Account holders and had access to their personal details.

Steps were taken after an investigation revealed that Mearns had dealt with all seven of a group of customer accounts over the course of a year that had reported suspicious activity including suspicious transactions or attempted transactions.

The investigation found that Mearns had conned clients into revealing personal details to him over the phone and made extensive electronic investigations into their accounts.

He used the information to make bogus phone calls to be made to the bank by different people, including himself, in a bid to have substantial sums be transferred out of the accounts.

He even tried to disguise his voice by faking an accent to fool an operator into transferring £50,000.

However, all of his attempts were thwarted by the bank’s security system.

Mearns was sacked after failing to attend a disciplinary hearing and the police were contacted.

He appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted fraudulently transferring £295,842.21 from HSBC between November 2010 and December 2011.

Depute fiscal Callum Forsyth said: “Seven ‘high net worth’ clients of HSBC reported transactions or attempted transfers of funds which were fraudulent.

“An internal investigation was commenced by HSBC which involved listening to recorded customer service calls relevant to the affected accounts. It transpired that all of the affected clients had dealt with the accused by telephone.

“It transpired that he kept notes of personal banking information related to several of the affected clients, which HSBC confirm is not in keeping with business practices.

“It also transpired that the accused, identified by his user number, had made numerous electronic checks into their personal details and accounts, without any apparent business justification.”

Mearns’s agent, solicitor Ian Brechany, said: “There were no successful attempts here so not so much as a single penny reached him. The holy grail figure for him was £10,000 but at no stage did that ever happen, hence why he kept trying and there were a significant amount of attempts.”

Sheriff Thomas Millar deferred sentence for reports and released Mearns on bail.

“Unsuccessful. Not so much as a single penny reached him”