Sri Lankan student in UK jailed on fraud charges

A 27-year-old Sri Lankan student and a 50-year-old Indian shop worker have been jailed after they helped launder almost £200,000 stolen from South West Communications in Exeter, UK, Express and Echo reported on Tuesday.

The student and the shop worker had allegedly allowed the fraudsters behind the Hustle style scheme to use their accounts to disguise where the money went.

They were just two of a number of people who worked together to defraud the Sowton based company out of £784,551.15 in a scam in which internet bank accounts were hacked into and looted.

A conman posed as a member of the Lloyds Bank fraud investigation team and persuaded staff at the telecommunications firm to reveal crucial log-in details by telling they were investigating an attempt to hack into the accounts.

In reality, that was exactly what they did and as soon as they got the information they took the money in eight tranches of between £90,000 and £100,000.

The two suspects set up accounts into which the stolen money was sent electronically before being moved out again, probably to mysterious businesses in Singapore.

Both men claimed they had also been the victims of identity fraud and knew nothing about the bank accounts set up in their names but they were found guilty when a jury at Exeter Crown Court rejected their stories.

They were both jailed for 22 months by Judge Geoffrey Mercer, QC, who told them:"I don't know what the full truth of this case is. I certainly did not hear it from your evidence'.