Two men have been sentenced at Inner London Crown Court to a combined total of 12 years and 7 months in prison for conspiring together to commit over £900k of fraud.
The sentencing, on Friday 5 November 2021, followed a successful investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU), a specialist police unit sponsored by the banking and finance industry that investigates the criminals responsible for fraud.
Two former bank employees, Gerald Francis Sarpong, 33, of Chigwell, Essex, and Mohammed Mehboob Uddin, 30, of Bethnal Green, East London, conspired with other unknown individuals to commit a total of £936,565 of fraud between 1 January 2018 and 30 October 2018.
The fraud was spotted by the bank and referred to the DCPCU to investigate the case.
Sarpong was arrested by the police on 10 July 2018 at the Birmingham branch where he worked. Officers searched his desk and seized his digital devices. Upon examination of his phone they found messages sent to Uddin containing customer account details. On 17 July 2018, officers executed a search warrant at Uddin’s home address, seizing his digital devices and documents and arresting him.
Sarpong and Uddin both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud. Sarpong received a prison sentence of 5 years and 11 months while Uddin received 6 years and 8 months imprisonment.
All victims were fully refunded by their bank.
Ben Hobbs, Detective Sergeant of the DCPCU, commented:
“Sarpong and Uddin acted with impunity, thinking they could get away with committing over £900,000 of fraud.
“This case shows that anyone who is caught abusing the trust placed in them by their employer will be punished.”
