Four Nigerians face trial for £10m ‘fraud’ in UK

Four suspected fraudsters, who are Nigerians, are being prosecuted for allegedly using the identities of civil servants to commit a £10million scam in the United Kingdom.

The accused were said to have stolen personal details from the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC), to make fraudulent claims over a four-year period.

Member lists were ‘stolen to order’ from CSSC and used to place orders for tax credit starter packs.

The gang, which reportedly made about £2,500,000, would have got away with £10,260,525 if staff at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs had not discovered the high rate of claims being made by civil servants.

Adedamola Oyebisi, 30, CSSC events manager, was accused of stealing membership lists and passing them on to her brothers-in-law Oluwatobe Emmanuel Odeyemi, 34, and Oluwagbenga Stephen Odeyemi, 39, who allegedly ran the fraud with Kayode Sanni, 38.

According to Dailymail, that Sanni, an illegal immigrant, denied being involved in the fraud and told Old Bailey jurors ‘my conscience is clear’.

However, he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to become knowingly concerned in a fraudulent act between March 10, 2009, and June 11, 2013.

“I’m quite satisfied at this stage that there is a significant risk that if he were released on bail he would fail to attend,” Michael Topolski, the judge presiding over the case, said.

“In my judgement, the situation has changed drastically.

“He chose to contest this matter against what I considered to be overwhelming evidence.

“His incentive to stay in this country has now diminished.”

Emmanuel Odeyemi and Adedamole Oyebode have already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced with Sanni at the Old Bailey on July 6.

Charges have been dropped against Oluwatosin Oyebisi, Emmanuel’s wife.

The prosecutor, Allison Hunter, a Queens counsel said: “These defendants went to exceptionally complex and sophisticated lengths in their orchestration of this fraud.

“They themselves operate under a number of fluid pseudonyms and false identities, operate a multiplicity of email address, have access to a number of mobile phone numbers and have spread the conduct of this fraud over computers and electronic storage devices sufficient to stock a small warehouse.”

Hunter said investigators began by identifying one of the multiple false tax credit claimants as Chantelle Gumbs, who has admitted her part in the scam.

The source of the stolen identity was traced to the CSSC in Chadwick Street, Westminster, where six staff had password protected access to members’ details.

Oyebode, who worked for the CSSC between August 2008 and August 2010, has admitted that she supplied lists of members and their details in return for payment.

She also made calls to the tax credit helpline to obtain application packs.

Investigation also revealed that the alleged fraudsters used the details to create false identities, buy online insurance and open false bank accounts to receive the cash.

Proceeds were then transferred into either their own accounts or through Western Union facilities set up by Sanni and Emmanuel Odeyemi.

Jurors were told that Stephen Odeyemi and his wife, Oluwatumininu Banjo, have fled to Nigeria and are wanted abroad.

Oluwatumininu Banjo and Emmanuel Odeyemi are believed to be on the run in Nigeria.