Brink’s Blew Off Missing|$100,000, Bank Says

DALLAS (CN) - Comerica Bank claims Brink's tried to cover for two armored car guards suspected of stealing $100,000 from a money bag - after the two guards had been suspected of stealing money from the same bank just weeks earlier.

Comerica claims Brink's refuses to reimburse it won't even file an insurance claim, though an investigation showed that the bank's money bag had been tampered with.

Comerica says in its federal complaint that it hired Brink's to provide "cash vault services," including receiving shipments of cash for processing.

Comerica claims it hired Texas-based armored car service Garda Southwest to take a cash bag containing $217,000 from the Houston airport to a Brink's vault on Dec. 2, 2009.

When the bag got to Brink's, it contained only $117,000 and was missing "a general ledger entry from Comerica's banking center," according to the complaint. The bank adds that instead of reporting the shortage, a Brink's employee altered the paperwork.

"The Brink's teller that processed the cash bag did not notify a Brink's supervisor that the cash bag was out of balance by $100,000 or that the general entry ledger was missing," according to the complaint. "Rather, the Brink's teller merely created an entry for $117,000 with respect to the cash bag."

Comerica claims that it came to find out that Garda had used the same two employees, who were involved in a "loss or theft" of Comerica money "within the weeks preceding the December 2, 2009 pick-up and delivery."

Comerica says it did not discover the shortfall until several weeks later. When it did, it says, both Brink's and Garda investigated and found that the "cash bag showed signs of tampering" and that the "Brink's teller who processed the cash bag noticed that [it] was compromised but did not report that fact."

The employees have been terminated and both Brink's and Garda have filed criminal complaints with the Houston Police Department, where the cash bag remains in custody, according to the complaint.

Comerica demands reimbursement and damages from Brink's, for breach of contract, and from Garda for gross negligence.

The bank is represented by Patricia Nolen.

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