(Image: West Yorkshire Police)
Two men have been sentenced for their involvement in money laundering offences after banking scammers carried out a sophisticated fraud against elderly and vulnerable victims.
Bradford Crown Court heard how a total of five victims, aged between 69 and 84, were tricked into transferring more than £30,000 from their accounts after receiving calls from a man posing as a “bank fraud investigator”.
The court heard how the bogus caller had persuaded his victims to help him try to identify fraudsters by transferring money as part of a “sting” operation.
The complainants were deceived into making various transfers into specified bank accounts linked to the two defendants with some of the money subsequently being used to purchase foreign currency.
Woman now worried about answering the phone
Prosecutor Brogan Riley summarised victim personal statements in which some of the complainants described the impact of the offending.
A 71-year-old woman said she was now worried about answering the phone and had been “devastated” by losing a total of £15,000 to the scammers.
She said she had not been able to make adaptations to her home and had not had a holiday since the loss of her money back in 2023.
The relative of another woman said the impact on her life and the family had been profound although the bank had refunded her lost “life savings”.
Another woman, who got half of her money back, said the man on the phone sounded professional, but she was now less trusting and more cautious.
Man jailed for 28 months
A police investigation led to the arrests of Wakefield man Wasim Javed and Mohammed Ali, from Bradford, back in 2023, but it was not until June this year that they both pleaded guilty to offences of possessing criminal property.
Javed, 33, of Pinderfields Road, admitted two charges relating to victims who had transferred about £20,000 back in July 2023.
The court heard he had previous convictions for drugs offences and Recorder Taryn Turner jailed him for 28 months.
Bradford man avoids jail
Ali, 22, of Grange Drive, Allerton, also pleaded guilty to two charges of possessing criminal property relating to further victims who had transferred about £13,000 in October 2023.
The court heard he had no previous convictions and was only 19 at the time of the offending.
He was sentenced to 14 months in prison suspended for two years, but he must also do 200 hours unpaid work for the community.
'Very mean and ugly'
Barrister Fuad Arshad, for Javed, said his client wanted to apologise through him for his conduct.
He said Javed’s drugs offending dated back to 2016 and his client had been out of trouble for the last three years.
“He knows there is not excuse whatsoever for what he has done,” said Mr Arshad.
But Recorder Turner said the offending was “very mean and ugly” and the victims had been deliberately manipulative and deceived.
She accepted neither defendant was before court for the fraud itself, but said they had played a vital role.
“These people were deliberately manipulated and deceived and the losses were substantial,” she said.
“I have no doubt for them it has been an extremely traumatic affair.”