Brian Molony Biography

Molony embezzled millions of dollars from the Canadian
Imperial Bank of Commerce by taking advantage of his managing
position within the company. His gambling addiction was at the
core of his actions.

Molony faced two and a half years of jail time upon discovery
of his scandal and he’s now forced to speak at conferences
explaining the negative consequences associated with impulse
gambling.

Early Life

Even as a young child, at the age of ten, Molony had a
passion for gambling. He would go to the racetrack with his
father and act as a bookkeeper for his friends at school. Molony
eventually went on to college, attending and graduating from the
University Of Western Ontario with a Bachelor’s Degree in
Journalism.

Molony planned to combine his two passions of journalism and
gambling to become a financial writer. He applied at the
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC) for that position, but
he scored so high on their entrance exam that he was immediately
put into their manager in training program.

His main responsibilities under this position included
managing current accounts, foreign exchange, and the acceptance
or denial of loans administered through the bank. He travelled
to many different branches and worked along-side many other
mangers, which gave him special insight into what the company’s
weaknesses were.

Molony’s annual salary was a little over $10,000 which suited
Molony’s lifestyle just fine, as he had no desire to wear fancy
clothes or eat at luxurious restaurants, but he did have a
desire for gambling. He frequently flew from his home in Toronto
to spend his weekends at the Las Vegas and Atlantic City
casinos, but this is clearly not something he could afford on
his modest salary.

Criminal Record

Molony took advantage of his management position and started
embezzling money from from CIBC to feed his gambling addiction.
He would apply for loans under the names of both real and
fabricated companies.

Molony would then transfer millions of dollars out of the
bank through a sub-company called California Clearing
Corporation whose sole purpose was to let people deposit
substantial sums of money into the various Las Vegas casinos.

He loved gambling, but he honestly didn’t have that much
success at the tables and to make matters worse he was an avid
high-roller. He kept convincing himself that if he bet high
enough that he could win back the money he stole from the bank
before they ever found out.

Those dreams came to an end on April 27th, 1982; he lost
nearly $1 million dollars at the craps tables in Caesars Atlantic
City casino. On that same day, CIBC had finally caught on to
Molony’s actions and he was arrested for embezzlement. By the
end, Molony had stolen over $10 million from the company.

Caesars admitted to never asking Molony for credit
information or what he did for a living. They also confessed to
rewarding Molony with tens of thousands of dollars in hotel
rooms and transportation to and from the casino by a private
jet.

CIBC filed a lawsuit against Caesars up this discovery,
accusing Caesars’ officials of permitting Molony to gamble even
though they knew that his money was probably stolen. CIBC hoped
to recover some of their financial losses, but the exact terms
of the settlement are private. Caesars wasn’t the only casino
that Molony gambled at, but he did gamble there the most.

The state Division of Gaming Enforcement stepped in and
punished Caesars by forcing them to close their doors on
Saturday, November 30th, which is a huge loss for the
corporation as it was the Saturday after Thanksgiving, a
potentially very profitable day for their casino.

Personal Life

Molony pled guilty to embezzlement in November of 1983, and
served two-and-half years in prison. As part of his community
service agreement, Molony had to attend counseling sessions for
gambling addiction along with speaking at a certain number
events to explain the potential pitfalls that gambling can cause
in your life.

Gary Stephen Ross wrote the book, “Stung,” which tells the
story of Brian Molony and his gambling obsession. This book was
published in 2002, after Brian Molony approved of it. Over the
past few decades Molony was able to get his life back together.
He’s now married with children, and he works as a business
consultant in Canada.