Wisbech-based organised crime group ordered to pay back £380,000 in ill-gotten gains
The three men involved opened bank accounts and stole money from vulnerable people in Latvia
Last updated 21st Sep 2023
A Wisbech-based organised crime group has been ordered to pay back almost £380,000 of their ill-gotten gains.
The trio who ran the group opened bank accounts on behalf of vulnerable people in Latvia, before taking control of their finances.
They facilitated thousands of fake online sales by requesting refunds through a payment website between 2017 and 2020.
One of the group was jailed in October 2021, with the other two sentenced in January this year.
- 38 year old Aleksejs Fedins, of Lime Avenue, Wisbech, was ordered to pay an initial £16,096.72, comprising £900 cash on arrest, a further £196.72 and a £15,000 share of a property. If not paid within three months, he will receive a seven-month prison sentence. He is already serving a three year and nine month sentence for fraud and money laundering.
- 36 year old Vadims Kuzmins, of Rowan Close, Wisbech, was ordered to pay an initial £1,607.77, comprising money from his account as well as a vehicle. If not paid within three months, he will receive a two-month prison sentence. He is already serving a suspended prison sentence for fraud offences.
- 36 year old Aleksandrs Lisens, of Sir Lewis Street, King’s Lynn, was ordered to pay a nominal amount of £1 due to a lack of assets. Should this not be paid, he will receive a one-month prison sentence. He is serving a 12 month community order for fraud offences.
DC Andy Macdonald, of Cambridgeshire Police, said: “Tackling fraud is a force priority and we will do everything we can, not just to prosecute fraudsters, but to get back the criminally-obtained money.
“I am delighted the court has taken this step to get these three criminals to re-pay all the money they fraudulently obtained.
“We will always look to disrupt criminal gangs who cause misery to so many people.”