'Incredibly heartless and despicable' fraudsters jailed after stealing £416,000 worth of cash and jewellery
Three men have been jailed following an ‘elaborate and incredibly heartless’ scam where they targetted elderly people.
Three men have been jailed for a combined total of more than 12 years after they scammed people out of cash and jewellery worth a minimum of £416,000.
Between February and September 2021, the group, which operated from the Reading area, targeted elderly people across a number of counties including Hampshire.
The group attempted to scam at least 42 people with the oldest being 90 and the youngest aged 57. They managed to get money and expensive jewellery from 27 victims living in Hampshire, London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex.
They used four telephone handsets operating from Reading town centre and called the victims while pretending 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 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 contained expensive jewellery, were not safe where they were.
Three men and three women were charged. Yesterday (January 29), three men were jailed for a combined total of 12 years and 20 months at Salisbury Crown Court.
The following people have appeared at court:
• Faris Kayani, 30, of Ambrook Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and was jailed for five years and six months.
• Saqib Mahmood, 28, of Cressingham Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and was jailed for three years and seven months.
• Luc Williams, 24, of Coalport Way, Tilehurst, Reading, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and was jailed for three years and seven months.
• Leonnie Charles, 22, of Eastgate Court, Reading, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and is due to be sentenced on Thursday, April 3.
• Sasha Weeks, 23, of Dawlish Road, Reading, pleaded guilty to money laundering and received a nine month custodial sentence, suspended for two years at Winchester Crown Court on December 20. She must also carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.
• Victoria Mooney, 34, of Bath Road, Padworth, Reading, pleaded guilty to money laundering and received a 10 month custodial sentence, suspended for two years at Winchester Crown Court on December 20.
Detective Constable Michael Dumbleton, from the Economic Crime Investigation Team, said: “This was an elaborate and incredibly heartless scam run by an Organised Crime Gang who preyed on elderly people living in a number of counties.
“Their despicable actions had a huge impact on many victims who have not only seen a huge financial loss, but have also been left with psychological damage as a result of a cruel and wicked scam.”
One of the victims, an 85-year-old woman from Church Crookham, was scammed out of £4,200 after being contacted by a man who pretended to be a police officer. She has been refunded £3,200.
She said: “After I realised that what had happened to me was a scam, I felt completely paralysed. It is a despicable thing to do, to pretend to be someone from the police and then scam someone.
“I spent the initial weeks after the incident unable to sleep for thinking about what had happened. I now have little faith left in my fellow human beings – I come from an era where this sort of thing just didn’t happen.”
“Please remember that banks, police or other officials will not contact people in this way and will not request them to hand over bank cards, PIN details, cash or other valuables.”