Barry McElduff and Leigh Hart prosecute complex courier fraud
Last Thursday (3rd April) the sentencing of Leonnie Charles brought to conclusion the Hampshire Police Economic Investigation known as Operation Watching.
Operation Watching concerned the activities of an OCG who perpetrated courier fraud against elderly members of society who were tricked into ‘helping police investigations’ by scammers posing as police officers. The gang preyed on the trusting nature of the victims.
Between February and September 2021, the group, which operated from the Reading area, targeted elderly people across a number of counties.
The group attempted to scam at least 42 people – with an average age of 78 – with the oldest being 90 and the youngest aged 57. They managed to obtain money and expensive jewellery from 27 victims living in Hampshire, London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex.
The total amount received was £116,000 in cash, while two victims gave them jewellery estimated to be worth a minimum of £300,000.
Winchester Crown Court heard the group, led by ring leader Faris Kayani, adopted a courier fraud tactic to target the individuals.
They used four telephone handsets operating from Reading town centre and called the victims while purporting to be police officers. The fraudsters claimed the people had been the victim of a fraud or that the police were investigating staff at their local bank for committing fraud.
The victims were told to call 999 from their phone to verify the identity of the caller. However, the line was intentionally kept open by the scammer and the call was not disconnected. The victims then believed they had made a new call and that they were speaking to a legitimate officer, however they were still speaking with the scammer.
The victims were asked to assist a police investigation and to withdraw money so it could be checked for counterfeit notes and be sent for fingerprint analysis. Some victims were persuaded that the contents of safety deposit boxes, which containd expensive jewellery, were not safe where they were.
This was all part of the scam and couriers were sent to the victim’s home to collect the money and items.
Six members of the gang were charged with offences of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering offences.
All 6 have now been sentenced; more details about the case can be found here
