A man has been jailed for scamming two Harrogate district women out of more than £450,000 and their entire life savings.

Police say the women were groomed over several months and have been left “absolutely devastated”.

They were called by a person claiming to be from the police, who said their accounts had been compromised.

He advised them to go to their bank and withdraw all their money in cash, which would then be picked up by a ‘police courier’ for safekeeping.

The two victims, whose names and precise locations are not known, were also told to purchase gold bullion with money from their bank accounts and then the gold was collected by the ‘couriers’ to be kept safe.

Ashley Thompson, 26, was sentenced to 21 months in prison for money laundering and fraud by false representation at the Inner London Crown Court yesterday.

Year-long police investigation

North Yorkshire Police received reports a year ago of victims being targeted by the crime, which is known as courier fraud scam.

Officers from the force’s economic crime unit worked with gold dealers to raise awareness of the crime and put other dealers on notice to watch out for suspicious gold sales.

On November 9, they were alerted to Thompson trying to sell one of the gold bullion bars in a London pawnbroker.

Working with City of London Police, two North Yorkshire Police officers travelled to London to arrest him and he was subsequently charged with fraud and money laundering offences.

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In interview, Thompson claimed he had hired a lock-up storage facility and that he had found the gold bar in a bag of tools but had no idea who owned it. He said he had waited to see if anyone claimed it but when no one did, he decided to try and pawn it for cash.

The investigating officers found that Thompson had created fake documents to prove the lock-up facility existed, when in reality it did not.

Victims ‘groomed’ over months

North Yorkshire Police Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst from the force’s economic crime unit, who led the investigation, said:

“Throughout the trial Thompson denied any knowledge of the gold bar’s origin, sticking to his story that he had simply found it in a bag of tools. He also couldn’t explain why he’d gone to the lengths of faking a hire contract for a non-existent lock-up facility to show the pawnbroker.

“The two victims of this courier fraud were absolutely devastated by it. They were groomed over a period of several months with their trust and good nature callously exploited to the extent that they lost their entire life savings to someone claiming to be a police officer.

“We unfortunately see courier fraud targeting North Yorkshire residents time and time again and I’d like to take this opportunity to issue another warning about it. The fraudsters use incredibly calculated and manipulative tactics to convince their victims that they are legitimate police officers or bank officials and will keep going until they get what they want.

“Remember, the police or your bank will never contact you and ask you to move or transfer money and will definitely never ask you to purchase high value items or to hand over your bank cards. Please be on your guard and share this warning with your friends, family and networks.”

DC Brodhurst added he hoped Thompson’s sentence “will serve as some closure for our victims”.

Thompson, of Margery Street, London, pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and was found guilty of money laundering.

He received a 15 month prison sentence for money laundering and a concurrent 6 month sentence for fraud by false representation.

North Yorkshire Police have issued a warning to residents and businesses after a high volume of bank fraud cases in the county, including £55,000 stolen from victims in Harrogate.

“Courier fraud” is when a victim receives a phone call from someone claiming to be from the police or their bank’s fraud team and who asks for money to be handed over to be used in an investigation.

They usually tell the victim they are investigating the bank due to allegations of theft from customers.

Police have issued the warning after three incidents were reported in Harrogate. One case saw a 65-year-old woman lose £50,000 to fraudsters after she was persuaded to withdraw money from her bank and to buy gold as a safer investment before it was placed into safe storage.

A further case saw a 60-year-old man conned out of £5,000. He refused to travel to London to hand the money over in person, but he agreed to pass it to a courier.

Meanwhile, an 80-year-old woman almost lost £6,500 back in March until she contacted her bank’s for fraud advice. The suspect did not contact her again.

Police continue to investigate these incidents.

Detective Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst, a fraud investigator, urged anyone who has been a victim of a courier fraud to come forward.

He said: “Courier fraud is clearly a despicable and malicious crime which preys upon vulnerable people who are genuinely frightened that their life savings are at risk.

“It is vitally important for residents to know that the police or a bank would never contact people in this way. They would also never ask for highly personal information such as PINs and bank account numbers over the phone.

“If you or someone you know receives such a call out of the blue, the best advice is to end the call straight away and report it to the police and the bank for investigation..

“Please do not feel foolish in any way. We are here to help and support victims and we will do everything in our power to bring suspects to justice.”