Eight men have been jailed today, Wednesday 4 May for a total of 34 years for defrauding elderly people out of approximately £1 million.
The Old Bailey previously heard that the group was involved in what was described as an ‘industrial-scale’ conspiracy to commit fraud by targeting elderly and vulnerable adults in courier fraud-style scams. Police identified around 140 frauds and attempted frauds.
The investigation by the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command (SO15) is one of the biggest courier fraud investigations carried out by UK police.
The scam involved various members of the group working together to gain the trust of their victims and persuade them to hand over cash to their ‘couriers’ whom the victims believed were working for the police on secret investigations.
Victims were targeted in Bedfordshire, Devon, Hertfordshire, Cornwall, Kent and London. In one case, a 76-year-old woman from Poole, Dorset, was targeted by the group and defrauded of just over £135,000. In another, a 94-year-old man from north-west London had £130,000 stolen after handing it over to the fraudsters.
The investigation into the group was launched in December 2014 by detectives from the National Terrorism Financial Investigation Unit (NTFIU) – part of SO15 – when detectives carrying out a separate counter terrorism investigation noticed irregular bank transfers for large sums to an individual, who was later identified as having travelled to Syria.
When specialist officers from the NTFIU investigated further, they linked the payments to other members of the group. Through their enquiries, officers began to link together several courier fraud offences across the country and they discovered 16 telephone lines the group used to make 5,695 calls to 3,774 different numbers across the UK.
At the centre of the scam was Makzhumi Abukar, who officers identified as the main organiser and coordinator, directing the frauds from his north London address. Abukar, along with Achmed Abdulaziz Ahmed and Sakaria Aden were linked to the majority of the frauds identified, with the other men linked to some of them.
Officers arrested a number of suspects between March and June 2015. While six of the defendants pleaded guilty to either conspiracy to commit fraud or money laundering offences, five denied the offences. Four of these were found guilty of conspiracy to commit fraud and one was found guilty of money laundering following trial at the Old Bailey on 10 December 2015. The fifth was found guilty of money laundering at the Old Bailey on 3 March 2016.
Commander Dean Haydon, head of the Met Counter Terrorism Command, said:
“I’m pleased with the sentences handed down to the group today. They callously and systematically defrauded elderly people of their life-savings. Had we not arrested them and put them before the courts, the group may have gone on to defraud many more victims across the UK.”
Sentenced on 4 May were; Fahim Islam, 21 (14.01.95) of Monthope Road, Stepney, E1; Achmed Abdulaziz Ahmed, 23 (20.06.92) of Morgan Road, Holloway, N7; Makzhumi Abukar, 24 (01.01.92), of Holloway, N7; Anrul Islam, 24 (16.11.91), of Hedgemans Road, Dagenham; Sakaria Aden, 22 (04.12.93) of Stoke Newington, N16; Mohamed Dahir, 23 (06.09.92) of Finsbury Park, N4; Yasser Abukar, 24 (01.11.91) of Holloway, N7; and Nathan Abraham Lauren Fagan-Gayle, 29 (02.11.86) of Mitcham.
Previously sentenced were; Mohammed Youssfi, 38 (21.07.77) of Fulham Road, West Brompton was sentenced to 20 months’ imprisonment on 8 September 2015; and Mohammed Sharif Abokar, 28 (26.06.87) of Islington, N1 was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment on 4 April 2016.
A ninth man is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey later this month; Warsame Sheik, 30 (10.07.85) of White City, W12, pleaded guilty to money laundering at an earlier hearing and is due to be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 27 May.
The Met has the following advice for potential victims:
– Police and banks will never ask for your PIN or bank card, so never give these to anyone.
– Nor will the police ask for money or for you to buy them items.
– If you are contacted by someone who asks for you to do any of these things, hang up.
– Use a different line to report it to police on 101 or allow at least five minutes for the line to automatically clear. Call 999 if the crime is in action.