Trio jailed for £0.5m fraud

THREE people involved in creating false identities and stealing around half-a-million pounds from a number of share trading companies have been given prison sentences.

Two men and a woman were sentenced at St Albans Crown Court on Monday for their part in the scam.

Jay Eseyoma, 31, of Woodhall Lane, WGC, was jailed for 21 months after admitting conspiracy to defraud.

Tsakani Mthimkulu, 25, also of Woodhall Lane, WGC, received 12 months in prison, suspended for 18 months, after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud.

Anthony Ukpetenan, 46, of no fixed abode, was jailed for three years after being found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.

A fourth person, who has admitted conspiracy to defraud, will be sentenced next month.

The quartet were snared by Operation Perfume, which had been set up by Hertfordshire Constabulary’s economic crime unit.

Detectives had established that during 2007 and 2008, the four were involved in creating false identities, supported by forged passports and driving licences to open a number of bank accounts.

Once these were set up, they set about defrauding web-based share trading and currency companies to £473,715.53.

As part of the investigation, officers executed warrants at addresses in WGC and Edgware, North London, and discovered around 30 fraudulent bank cards, large quantities of financial documents, such as bank statements and two driving licences in false names.

Detective constable Derek Hill said: “These individuals thought that by creating a complex process to steal money from financial institutions and then disseminating the funds through the various false accounts, they couldn’t be traced. They were wrong.

“No matter how detailed their scam was, we were still able to undercover their illegal activities.”