London court sentenced money mules that
helped defraud Wonga of £3.8 million by having cash-funneled into their
accounts have been jailed, one in absentia because he fled to Nigeria.
Over a 14-month period starting in
April 2012, over 19,000 fraudulent loan applications totaling £6.2 million
were submitted to the company using stolen identities.
According to City of London Police,
a failure in Wonga’s computer systems meant over half the loans were approved,
with £3.8 million hitting the accounts of a network of middlemen. Cash from
their internet accounts was eventually transferred to one “master” account
controlled by those running the scam.
On Friday, January 29, four of the
mules were sentenced to a total of over 10 years.
Kelvin Okusanya, 31, from Coventry,
the only one of the group convicted of submitting the loans and receiving the
proceeds, was sentenced in his absence to six years in jail. Police believe he
has fled to Nigeria.
Oluwamuyiwa Fasoranti, 32, of The
Hollands, Feltham, and Sophia Pusey-Carroll, 46, of Byron Road, Harrow, were
jailed for three years and 21 months respectively after being convicted of
money laundering.
Monika Solarz, 29, of Audley Road,
Hendon, received an 18-month sentence after admitting her role.
Police Staff Investigator Andy Cope
said: "This group of money mules would have been working in close
partnership with the people making the fraudulent loan applications, together
taking millions of pounds from Wonga and committing identity crime on an
industrial level. Being a money mule may seem like a relatively harmless
offence, but law enforcement views it very differently. We are committed to
stopping those middle-men who enable fraud and other crimes"
No comments:
Post a Comment