A financial services worker who took advantage of a technical glitch in an online banking system to steal almost €25,000 has been given a three year suspended sentence.
Prince Joseph Ncube (24) was working in a separate financial institution in April 2017 when he became aware of a way to manipulate Bank of Ireland's online banking system, allowing him to create what are termed notional credits in his own bank account.
Det Garda Shane Fitzsimons told the court the crime involved Ncube "exploiting a sequencing and timing anomaly" within the online banking system which enabled him to transfer €48 from one bank account to two separate accounts using two separate devices.
This then created a notional credit in one of the accounts, meaning that it was credited by €48 even though the cash was not actually in the account. Ncube then transferred this money to another account, creating more notional credits and doubling the initial sum to €96.
He made a large number of transfers between his bank accounts over a short period, until he had built up a notional credit balance in excess of €24,500.
Det Gda Fitzsimons agreed that Ncube only managed to withdraw €14,500 before the bank became suspicious and his account was frozen. It was examined by a senior fraud investigator with Bank of Ireland and €10,000 was recovered.
Gardaí were alerted in May 2017 and the bank provided officers with the documentation Ncube used to open four deposit accounts the previous month.
Ncube was identified as a suspect and arrested. He made limited admissions during subsequent Garda interviews.
‘Bright young man’
Ncube of Parnell Green, Ladyswell Road, Mulhuddart, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to theft from Bank of Ireland. He has two previous convictions for road traffic offences but has not come to garda attention since.
Det Gda Fitzsimons agreed that given the sophisticated nature of the fraud Ncube’s plea of guilty was valuable to the prosecution of the case.
He accepted a suggestion from Oisín Clarke BL, defending, that his client claims he gave the money he stole to “a third party” but he said he was not in a position to dispute this claim.
Judge Martin Nolan said Ncube was a "a bright young man who spotted a gap and exploited this gap by stealing" in what he described as "a complicated and sophisticated way".
He accepted Ncube’s admissions, lack of relevant convictions, education and work history before he handed down a three-year sentence, which he suspended in full on condition that Ncube pay €14,500 to the investigating garda for onward transmission to Bank of Ireland within six months.
Mr Clarke told Judge Nolan that his client was currently working while studying part-time for a certificate in Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Manufacturing in Tallaght Institute of Technology.