A gang of Nigerian fraudsters are facing jail in Britain for using the identities of MPs, judges and police officers during a £10million scam. The fraudsters stole personal details from UK’s 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 used in fraudulent claims over a four year period. The gang managed to get away with nearly £2,500,000 before staff at Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs spotted the ‘extraordinarily high rate’ of claims being made by civil servants. If the scam had not been stopped it could have reaped more than £10,260,525.
CSSC events manager Adedamola Oyebode, 30, stole membership lists and passed them on to her brothers-in-law Oluwatobe Emmanuel Odeyemi, 34, and Oluwagbenga Stephen Odeyemi, 39, who ran the fraud with Kayode Sanni, 38.
Sanni, an illegal immigrant, denied being involved in the fraud and told Old Bailey jurors ‘my conscience is clear’ as he stood trial alone.
But he was convicted of one count of conspiracy to become knowingly concerned in a fraudulent act between 10 March 2009 and 11 June 2013. One of the multiple false tax credit fraudsters was identified as Chantelle Gumbs, said Ms Hunter. It was discovered she used identities stolen from the CSSC which is based in Westminster near the Houses of Parliament.
Emmanuel Odeyemi, Gumbs and Adedamole Oyebode have already pleaded guilty and will be sentenced with Sanni at the Old Bailey on 6 July. Prosecutors have dropped charges against Emmanuel’s wife Oluwatosin Oyebode. Adedamole Oyebode, who worked for the CSSC between August 2008 and August 2010, has since admitted supplying lists of members and their details in return for payment.
Jurors were told that two of the gang, Stephen Odeyemi and his wife Oluwatumininu Banjo, 40, have fled to Nigeria and are wanted abroad.
Ms Hunter said: ‘These individuals conspired together to obtain in excess of £10,260,525.33 in fraudulent tax credits using the identities of 10,300 police officers, MPs, members of the judiciary, and civil servants for example, whose personal data and information was stolen from the Civil Service Sports Council. The CSSC provides leisure events and activities together with sporting and fitness facilities to approximately 120,000 Public Sector employees or pensioners, including civil servants, local government employees, the NHS, teachers, police officers, fire fighters and HM Armed Forces personnel.’
Sanni, from Leeds, denied but conspiracy to become knowingly concerned in a fraudulent act – but was convicted of the crime. Adedamola Oyebode, from Bellingham, southeast London, Stephen Odeyimi from Dagenham, Essex and Chantelle Gumbs, will be sentenced alongside him for fraud charges on 6 July at the Old Bailey. Oluwatumininu Banjo, also from Dagenham, and Emmanuel Odeyemi, from Gravesend, Kent, are believed to be on the run in Nigeria.
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