Poker duo in £150k scam for Vegas trip

TWO professional poker players stole more than £150,000 from cash machines - to fund a massive Las Vegas gambling spree.

Poker duo in £150k scam for Vegas trip


TWO professional poker players stole more than £150,000 from cash machines - to fund a massive Las Vegas gambling spree.

Mohammed Imran and Mohammed Irfan pocketed the cash during a period of just three days in 2005.

The brothers exploited a loophole in the ATM system that enabled them to carry out the scam.

The pair - once rated among the top poker players in the country - now face jail after they admitted stealing £154,640.

Glasgow Sheriff Court heard the Halifax and Bank of Scotland carried out an overhaul of their autoteller programming system when the firms merged three years ago.

Around 400 staff in Scotland and England helped implement the changes.

Imran Bashir, prosecuting, said an "error" in the system later became apparent although it was not known if it was deliberate.

The glitch allowed Imran, 33, and Irfan, 36, to overcome the security of ATMs by simply using one expired Halifax Bank of Scotland keycard.

The court heard between May 29 and June 1 2005 they made "several hundred withdrawals" at cash points across Glasgow - including one auto teller at the city's Riverboat Casino.

The banks eventually became aware of the scam and the card being used was traced to a newsagents in the city's Charing Cross.

It was found that the shop owner Shahana Shad was the sister in law of one of the accused.

She admitted being a customer of the bank, but claimed that she had never received the card.

Suspicion then fell on Imran, of Ashlar Avenue, and Irfan, of Birkdale Wood, both Cumbernauld, before police were alerted.

Their homes were later raided and £14,480 was found in a safe belonging to Imran. Another £140,160 was discovered in Irfan's safe.

Sheriff Robert Anthony QC deferred sentencing until later this month.

News Added: 04 March, 2008

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