A fraudster who laundered money for an international crime gang has been ordered to pay back over half a million pounds or face an increased jail sentence.
The 26 year old man from Peterborough is currently serving a 27 month jail term after admitting laundering £170,000 for an international crime gang. His criminal activity made him £578,632.
The judge ordered the £41,248 seized from his bank accounts when he was arrested to be paid in compensation to three victims of the scams which included lottery fraud, bogus charity collections and investment fraud.
Appearing at Norwich Crown Court last week, he was given six months to pay back the outstanding £537,383 or face a further four years in prison. The debt will stay with him regardless of whether he serves further jail time.
Large scale operation
One victim paid £240,000 into one of the fraudulent schemes run by the gang, only £5,000 of which passed through the offenders’ accounts - showing the scale of the operation.
Detective Constable Al Bassam, who led the investigation, said: "This case shows that we will continue to pursue criminal assets even after the offender has been sentenced.
"The offender was living in the UK as an asylum seeker who was not working and not entitled to benefits, but records showed a huge amount of money was passing through his accounts. While he was not orchestrating the fraud he certainly benefitted financially.
"We have identified a number of victims who have been tricked out of their life savings. We're pleased that they will now receive some compensation”
For further information visit the Cambridgeshire Constabulary website.
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To report a fraud and receive a police crime reference number, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use our online fraud reporting tool.
Related links
Fraudsters ordered to pay victims back
Police arrest £1m phishing gang
Organised Crime Group who scammed £3m are jailed
