Two Kent money launderers jailed for £1 million fraud
The gang targeted elderly and vulnerable people
Two people from Kent have been sentenced for helping launder the proceeds of a £1.2m computer scam.
Bindu Devasia and Jose Kuriakose, both from Deal, were part of the gang that targeted elderly and vulnerable people.
They tricked them into paying out thousands of pounds to fix non-existent IT problems.
Between May 2015 and November 2019, the gang transferred over £1,289,837 to two India-based brothers who were behind a network of companies posing as well-known firms including HP, Microsoft Norton, and Epson.
Amanda Grigg (66) of Truro, Cornwall, Jose Kuriakose (50) of Deal, Kent, Gena Harrington (39) of Handsworth, Birmingham, Bindu Devasia (49) of Deal, Kent, and Nicholas Alcide (40) of Birmingham have all now been sentenced.
Sentenced
- Amanda Grigg – 3 years imprisonment, disqualified from being a company director for 6 years
- Jose Kuriakose – 50 months' imprisonment, disqualified from being a company director for 6 years
- Gena Harrington – 30 months’ imprisonment, disqualified from being a company director for 6 years
- Bindu Devasia – 8 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years. Disqualified from being a company director for 6 years and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work
- Nicholas Alcide – 15 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 2 years. Disqualified from being a company director for 2 years and ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work
The sentences follow an investigation led by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, based at City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council, supported by officers from West Midlands, Staffordshire and Wiltshire police services.
The court heard how fake companies posted adverts online to lure victims before leading them to believe there were issues with their computers.
Victims were told that false problems could be fixed for a fee and were persuaded into allowing remote access to their computers.
One victim paid a total of £4,427.96 to people who he believed worked for HP to resolve a supposed issue with his computer.
The money was then filtered through a series of companies set up by the gang before being transferred to India.
"No qualms"
Lord Michael Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, said: “This group of money launderers had no qualms about enriching themselves off the back of vulnerable and elderly victims – deviously setting up a vast web of companies to hide their criminality."
Amy Hogan-Burney, General Manager, Cybersecurity Policy & Protection at Microsoft said "Microsoft welcomes today's verdict and remains committed to working with governments and across industry to combat tech support fraud and hold perpetrators accountable."