DOJ Ask Judge to Thrown RBS Embezzler James Glover in Jail

Former RBS executive James Glover could be sent to jail today. The Connecticut office of the Dept. of Justice filed papers this week asking the judge to thrown Jamie in the slammer. On June 1st 2011, Glover plead guilty to stealing more than $600,000 from RBS’s Greenwich Capital division.

We reported at Greenwich Time last year Glover had stolen because he was over leveraged in a commercial real estate project and USA Bank was about to call in the loan. Early last February, RBS admitted they had to fire Glover over these illegal transactions and told the press the case had been referred to the authorities. Except today we learn the DOJ says they didn’t get the case from RBS until Glover returned all the money, which according to the original charge wasn’t till March 2010.

I always found it odd (and frustrating) that the British subsidized bank, RBS, wouldn’t tell U.S. reporters which authorities they turned the case over to last winter. When we first got the story in early February 2010, I and other Hearst CT News reporters called our state and federal government sources; who all admitted on background they didn’t have the case. Some of Glover’s peers who worked with him on the Greenwich Capital team even called into the paper saying they were told RBS wouldn’t press charges if Glover returned all the money. Still it took the DOJ over a year to file charges against Glover even though we now learn he admitted guilt in early 2010. A RBS spokesperson would not comment on the inside negotiations the firm engaged in before they sent the case to the DOJ.

Since Glover’s charges were filed in court this summer his attorney has argued he didn’t steal between $400,000 and a million dollars in an attempt to get his sentence reduced. Their argument is because he gave back the largest transfer of funds, $359,000, right away after he was confronted by RBS that’s not really stealing. Thankfully the DOJ wasn’t buying this argument and told the court even though Glover returned some of the funds within a few days of getting caught last January he still orchestrated an embezzlement scheme for a year. As a result, the DOJ’s probation office recommended 30 to 37 months jail time and the DOJ submitted to the court they’re ok with this time being slightly reduced but Glover still must be incarcerated.

U.S. Attorney Richard Schechter wrote to the judge, “Glover’s willingness to accept responsibility and to pay back the stolen funds should not be a basis to completely eliminate imprisonment as part of the sentencing process.”

Schechter also thinks because Glover reported in excess of $400,000 on his joint tax returns in 2007 and 2008, ,the years before the thefts began, that there is no compelling economic justification for Glover to abuse his position to steal from RBS. Glover was in charge of Greenwich Capital’s back office trading operations that dealt with settlements and reconciliations.

Cleary U.S. Attorney Schechter hasn’t tried to raise a family living in the wealthy enclave of West Harrison, NY if he thinks a gross income of $400,000, on top of a $3 million commercial real estate balloon payment breathing down Glover’s neck, isn’t enough to drive the guy to take money from RBS.

Update: Glover was sentenced to a year and a day in jail with a two year probation after he serves time.

Update 10-9-2011: How did I miss this? James Glover set up a Tumbler blog after Bess Levin (DealBreaker) and I first reported on RBS removing him from his job because they found out he stole from the UK bank. He used Tumbler to promote his back office management skills and brags he actually saved RBS Greenwich Capital $2 million in the firms clearing and futures agreements per year. So maybe that’s why he thought lifting around $600k from the bank was just awarding him the bonus he deserved?