The ringleaders and members of a group which helped launder up to £2 million in a complex fraud have been sentenced.

Among their "at least 40" victims was a man who had been diagnosed with cancer the day the money was taken from him.

Another, an elderly man, lost more than £40,000 in the "sophisticated and thoroughly organised" fraud which had a "highly damaging" impact on those targeted over a four-year period.

Harrow Crown Court heard on Thursday (November 30) how fraud money had been converted into foreign currency at a Post Office - the gang were responsible for laundering £1.2m of the £2m total.

Money was moved around the instant it was taken, the court heard, and the fraud amounted to £2m in total, potentially more.

Among the six people appearing for sentencing for money laundering was Hemen Mehta and his wife Kinjal Barot, from Wembley, and Vishalkumar Patel, from Harrow.

Crown prosecutor Jo Martin said the case was incredibly complex.

All of the gang but Yunus Desai admitted money laundering offences shortly before the trial was due to begin.

Harrow Crown Court

The court was told both Mehta and Pritesh Patel, worked at White City Post Office and both admitted converting money obtained by fraud into foreign currency.

Desai admitted to possessing false passports and possession of passports and driving licences which were to be used as part of the money laundering process.

Pritesh Patel

Defence lawyer said the defendants, many of whom were not UK nationals, had brought shame on their family in India. They also sought to make clear that they were not responsible for the fraud.

Addressing Judge Richard McGregor-Johnson, Ms Martin said the fraud was committed over a period of almost four years with “at least 40 and almost certainly more victims nationwide”.

She described it as “sophisticated and thoroughly organised” and added the total £2m figure was a “conservative” estimate.

Vishalkumar Patel

The group of six were charged following an investigation in Devon and Cornwall in 2016.

In passing sentence, Judge McGregor-Johnson said the group were an “integral part of a sophisticated fraud with highly damaging consequences for its victims”.

He noted the speed at which money was laundered following a fraud, saying it was moved the “instant the money was taken”.

He said Mehta played a leading part, was responsible for involving his wife, and noted he carried on laundering after being arrested in April 2014.

As manager of the White City Post Office, Pritesh Patel had breached trust, he also noted.

Hemen Mehta

Vishalkumar Patel also played a leading role, the judge added.

Speaking afterwards Devon and Cornwall senior investigating officer John Shuttleworth told getwestlondon: “I’m really pleased that the judge recognised the sophistication of the crime and the complexity of the criminal network and also the impact on the victims.”

Discussing the frauds, he said: “We will never know how close they were to the people that made the calls.

“The evidence wasn’t there to show their involvement.”

But he said the speed in which was money was transferred following a fraud indicated “the three main offenders must have been close to the fraudsters”.

Sentences

Kinjal Barot, 27, of High Road, Wembley: Nine-month sentence suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work to be completed in 12 months after admitting one count of converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash. Subject to a deportation order .

Yunus Desai, 65, of Victoria Street in Chorley, Lancashire: 12-month sentence suspended for 18 months after admitting two counts - Being in possession of identity documents that were false (passports) and that he knew or believed to be false; and being in possession of identity documents (passport and driving licence) with an improper intention. A charge of converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash, will remain on file.

Mohammed Hussain, 23, of Landseer Avenue in Manor Park, London: Nine-month sentence suspended for 18 months and 150 hours unpaid work to be completed in 12 months after admitting one count of converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash .

Heman Mehta, 34, of High Road, Wembley: Six years in prison after admitting two counts - converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash; and converted criminal money obtained by fraud by converting that money into foreign currency at White City Post Office. Mehta was sentenced to six years for each count, to run concurrently.

Pritesh Patel, 36, of Hyde Square in Upper Beeding, Sussex: Five and-a-half years in prison after admitting to two counts - converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash; and converted criminal money obtained by fraud by converting that money into foreign currency at White City Post Office. Patel was sentenced to five and-a-half years for each count, to run concurrently.

Vishalkumar Patel, 27, from Village Way East, Harrow: Four years and nine months in prison after admitting one count of converting or transferring criminal property, namely money obtained by fraud, by transferring that money through bank accounts controlled by them and withdrawing the money in cash. A charge of converted criminal money obtained by fraud by converting that money into foreign currency at White City Post Office will lie on file.

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