Macdonald Chimbizi
H-Metro’s UK Correspondent
A ZIMBABWEAN living in the UK has been jailed for being part of a gang of fraudsters who swindled elderly victims out of more than £250,000.
The money was part of these elderly people’s pensions.
Brendan Mbara is heading to prison while his fellow Zimbabwean, Faith Moyo, escaped an immediate jail term.
They both admitted their roles in the elaborate scam operation.
Brendan (27) was sentenced to three years and 10 months in prison.
He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
Faith (21) received a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for two years, and was ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
The pair was part of four gang members who were sentenced by the Newcastle Crown Court after pleading guilty to offences linked to fraud and money laundering.
According to the prosecution, the gang targeted mainly elderly people by pretending to be bank officials.
Victims were falsely told there had been suspicious activity on their bank accounts and were instructed to hand over their bank cards, PIN numbers and mobile phones to couriers sent to collect them.
The gang then used the stolen cards to withdraw cash and buy expensive items.
Police linked the operation to victims across Newcastle, Northumberland, Cleveland, Darlington, Leeds, Colchester, Keswick, Shipley, Derbyshire and Stoke-on-Trent, with losses exceeding £250,000.
Searches carried out during the investigations led to the recovery of thousands of pounds worth of Apple products and other luxury goods from retailers, including Selfridges and Harvey Nichols.
Officers also seized mobile phones and bank cards belonging to other people.
Faced with overwhelming evidence, the gang admitted their crimes.
Co-accused Saif Hussain was jailed for four years and three months, while Nadia Simelane received a suspended sentence and community service after admitting her role in the scheme.
Sophie Snowdon, from the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit’s Proactive Economic Crime Team, said:
“Courier Fraud is an abhorrent crime which generally targets the elderly and most vulnerable in our communities and, thankfully, this is just the latest robust action taken against criminals looking to implement and run fraud operations in our region.”
She added:
“I would like to thank everyone involved in this investigation, our partners in Northumbria Police, Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit and Greater Manchester Police, this has been yet another fantastic display of a united police front against fraudsters.”
The gang’s downfall came after police pieced together a strong case linking them to a fraud network that targeted vulnerable pensioners across England.
For Brendan, the quest for easy money has ended behind prison walls.
For Faith, freedom comes with conditions and any further brush with the law could see her joining her countryman in jail.
