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09
Jun 2022
Man jailed for scamming two Harrogate district women of life savings
A man has been jailed for scamming two Harrogate district women out of more than £450,000 and their entire life savings.
Police say the women were groomed over several months and have been left "absolutely devastated".
They were called by a person claiming to be from the police, who said their accounts had been compromised.
He advised them to go to their bank and withdraw all their money in cash, which would then be picked up by a ‘police courier’ for safekeeping.
The two victims, whose names and precise locations are not known, were also told to purchase gold bullion with money from their bank accounts and then the gold was collected by the ‘couriers’ to be kept safe.
Ashley Thompson, 26, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for money laundering and fraud by false representation at the Inner London Crown Court yesterday.
Year-long police investigation
North Yorkshire Police received reports a year ago of victims being targeted by the crime, which is known as courier fraud scam.
Officers from the force's economic crime unit worked with gold dealers to raise awareness of the crime and put other dealers on notice to watch out for suspicious gold sales.
On November 9, they were alerted to Thompson trying to sell one of the gold bullion bars in a London pawnbroker.
Working with City of London Police, two North Yorkshire Police officers travelled to London to arrest him and he was subsequently charged with fraud and money laundering offences.
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In interview, Thompson claimed he had hired a lock-up storage facility and that he had found the gold bar in a bag of tools but had no idea who owned it. He said he had waited to see if anyone claimed it but when no one did, he decided to try and pawn it for cash.
The investigating officers found that Thompson had created fake documents to prove the lock-up facility existed, when in reality it did not.
Victims 'groomed' over months
North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst from the force’s economic crime unit, who led the investigation, said:
DC Brodhurst added he hoped Thompson’s sentence "will serve as some closure for our victims".
Thompson, of Margery Street, London, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and was found guilty of money laundering.
He received a 15 month prison sentence for money laundering and a concurrent 6 month sentence for fraud by false representation.
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