Email Hacking Gang jailed for Trying to steal £3m

Gang members have been jailed for a total of more than 19 years after they hacked into a businessman’s email account and tried to steal £3 million.

The men were sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on June 21, 2019.

The court heard how the group hacked into their victim’s email account.

This enabled them to send emails without his knowledge and prevented him from viewing messages from his accountant and bank.

In January 2015, they sent bogus invoices in several emails to the victim’s bank requesting payments adding up to around £1.3 million to account numbers belonging to the gang.

The men were caught following a four-year investigation which saw the Met’s Cyber Crime squad go through thousands of pieces of evidence.

Over 50 electronic devices including computers and mobile phones were seized in raids at their addresses.

The investigation found that Mohammed Siddique, aged 32, laundered £600,000. Officers found stolen bank cards and three cheques worth up to £51,000 at his home.

There were also 1,000 passports and bank cards on his computer used to create false identities.

Meharoof Muttiyan acted as the group’s mule by transferring the cash through the bank accounts of a petrol station, insurance claims firm and computer business owned by the gang.

He was in possession of a fraudulent cheque worth £28,000.

The court heard 34-year-old Mohammed Rafeek distributed over £250,000 while Foyjul Islam, aged 51, provided accounts to receive the stolen money.

In May 2019, the gang was found guilty of money laundering.

A fifth man, Anthony Oshodi, aged 49, of Eltham, London, was found guilty of money laundering, possession of a false identity document and articles for use in fraud.

However, Oshodi fled three weeks into the trial. In his absence, he was jailed for six years and six months.

Foyjul Islam, of Poplar, and Mohammed Rafeek, of East Ham, were jailed for two years and six months each.

Meharoof Muttiyan, aged 35, of East Ham, was sentenced to one year and eight months in prison.

Mohammed Siddique, aged 32, of Dagenham, received a six-month prison term.

Detective Constable Barry Steel, of the Met’s Cyber Crime unit, referred to the case as a “complicated and protracted investigation”.

He said: “Officers on this case spent years tracing the actions of this group in order to bring them before the courts.

“They trawled through thousands of pieces of evidence and linked each suspect to this fraud.”

“Oshodi fled three weeks into this trial, but due to the level of evidence produced against him, the jury were able to convict in his absence.

“We will continue to pursue Oshodi and bring him to justice for his part in this crime.

“I would ask anyone with information regarding his whereabouts to contact the Cyber Crime Unit directly on 0207 230 8475.”