David Hay convinced family friend Gary Small to hand over thousands of pounds after claiming he could provide him with the currency at preferential rates due to his position as a financial investigator with HSBC.
Hay, 42, said he received the cash from a senior manager with the bank who worked in Paris and brought back Euros and US Dollars at cost price and did not have to pay any form of mark up.
Mr Small then told four of his own friends of the currency deal and while acting as “a middle man” he handed over a total of £35,970 to Hay over a four month period which was never paid back.
Edinburgh Sheriff Court was told Mr Small was subsequently forced to take out a loan of £29,000 “to reimburse” his pals back after the currency scam collapsed.
Hay – who has also worked with the Bank of Scotland, Lloyds and Sainsbury’s – was said to have used the cash to “fund his gambling addiction, namely football betting online” with Bet365.
The betting firm was said to have become “concerned regarding the amount of gambling” by the financial worker and decided to close his account down.
Hay, of Ferry Road, Leith, pleaded guilty to an amended charge of fraudulently obtaining £35,970 from five men between June and October 2018 when he appeared at the capital court yesterday. (THURS)
Prosecutor Anna Chisholm said…
