Crime clan ordered to pay back £500k
Court take action to seize assets from ‘greedy’ family of fraudsters
A FAMILY of fraudsters who tricked OAPs out of £1.3million and splashed the cash on posh cars and watches were yesterday ordered to pay back £500,000. The “ferociously greedy” Glasgowbased Mohammed clan cold-called victims. They posed as fraud advisers from Visa or high-street banks and said the customer had been targeted in a suspected scam. Led by Atif Mohammed, 25, from Crosshill, the con artists then told their prey to hang up and redial their own bank’s fraud team themselves to gain their trust. But they stayed on the line, intercepted the return call and posed as a bank official by putting on a fake voice. At least 42 elderly and vulnerable people from across the UK were encouraged to transfer their savings – up to £129,000 in one case – into another bank account. The callous fraudsters spent the money on flash cars including a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, a white Land Rover, a Ferrari and a Mercedes, a court heard.
It also funded designer bags, gold, expensive watches and trips abroad, including repeat visits to Dubai – where they bought a house.
Seven members and accomplices of the Mohammed family, originally from Pakistan, were jailed for almost 25 years for the scam following a trial last June.
Yesterday, the gang were ordered to pay back £492,328.98 of their earnings at a hearing at Bristol Crown Court.
Afterwards, Detective InspectorTony Hubbard, of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, said: “We are committed to seizing any assets that have been gained as a result of the crime committed.”
The court heard the family called thousands of people between December 2013 and January 2015 as part of the “vishing” – voice fishing – scam.
A mistake by one of the offenders gave a breakthrough to investigators, who were able to identify the person and infiltrate the operation.
Sentencing the gang last year, Judge Barry Cotter QC said the family was “rife with criminality” and “united by ferocious greed”. One victim was scammed out of £84,000 in life savings on April Fool’s Day 2014.