Five people who helped launder the proceeds of a £1.2 million computer fraud have been jailed.
The scam targeted elderly and vulnerable people, tricking them into paying thousands of pounds each to fix nonexistent IT problems.
Between May 2015 and November 2019, the gang transferred £1,289,837 to two India-based brothers who posed as representatives of HP, Microsoft Norton and Epson to defraud their victims.
Amanda Grigg, 66, of Truro, Gena Harrington, 39, of Birmingham, Bindu Devasia, 49, of Kent, Nicholas Alcide, 40, of Birmingham, and Jose Kuriakose, 50, of Kent, were sentenced at Leeds Crown Court on Monday.
The court heard that victims were told the fictitious problems could be fixed for a fee and were persuaded to allow remote access to their computers.
A man paid a total of £4,427.96 to people he believed worked for HP to fix an alleged problem with his computer.
The money was then funneled through a number of companies set up by the gang before being transferred to India.
The money laundering investigation was led by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, based at the City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council.
Lord Michael Bichard, chairman of the National Trading Standards Board, said the gang had “no qualms about enriching themselves on the backs of vulnerable and elderly victims”.
“I hope that today’s sentences serve as a stark reminder to all money launderers that they will face criminal prosecution, no matter how well coordinated their schemes may appear,” he added.
Officers from West Midlands, Staffordshire and Wiltshire police services also assisted in the investigation.
Amy Hogan-Burney, general manager of cybersecurity policy and protection at Microsoft, said: “Microsoft welcomes today’s ruling and remains committed to working with governments and the wider industry to combat tech support fraud and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Grigg was sentenced to three years in prison, Kuriakose to four years and two months and Harrington to two years and six months. All three were disqualified from acting as directors for six years.
Devasia was sentenced to eight months in prison, suspended for two years, disqualified from acting as a director of the company for six years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Alcide was sentenced to 15 months in prison, suspended for two years. He was also disqualified from acting as a director for two years and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
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