A 25-year-old man scammed more than £15,000 from elderly people in Brighton and Hove as part of a gang who impersonated police officers.
Mohammed Saddiqee, of Woodlands Avenue, Wokingham, was the gang’s courier, collecting the money from the vulnerable victims – all in their eighties.
Saddiqee was caught with thousands of pounds on him when he was stopped on the A23 in June 2022 and arrested on suspicion of fraud and money laundering.
At Guildford Crown Court last Friday (24 October), a judge imposed a 12-month community order and sentenced Saddiqee to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.
Sussex Police said today (Thursday 30 October): “A man who conspired with others to impersonate police officers to steal over £15,000 from elderly people in Brighton and Hove has been sentenced.
“In 2022, Mohammed Saddiqee, 25, of Woodlands Avenue, in Wokingham, was the courier of an organised criminal gang, pretending to be Metropolitan Police officers to target vulnerable victims.
“On Monday 20 June 2022, the victim communicator – the person who contacts the victims – contacted a Hove couple in their late eighties pretending to be investigating counterfeit money in the area.
“The victim communicator manipulated the victims into withdrawing over £6,200 in cash, claiming it was to support the investigation.
“Saddiqee collected the cash from the victims at their home address later that day and tried unsuccessfully to defraud them of another £7,000. They reported the fraud the same day.
“The next day, the victim communicator contacted a Brighton man in his late eighties peddling the same story – he was the fictional Detective Constable Robins, investigating bank fraud in the area.
“He convinced the man to withdraw and hand over £4,200.
“The victim communicator struck again on Tuesday 28 June 2022, claiming to be a police officer by the name of George Romeo, investigating bank fraud.
“He targeted a couple in their eighties and Saddiqee collected £6,800 from them to support the fictional investigation.
“Officers were already attempting to trace Saddiqee’s vehicle from the first two incidents when he was found travelling on the A23 on Tuesday 28 June.
“He was stopped and a search of the car found three envelopes containing £6,800.
“He was arrested and subsequently charged with conspiracy to defraud and money laundering.
That so called sentence is an insult to the victims.
Darn right it is, Rachel.
He was just the driver. The real scammers got away with it
It seems quite lenient and is unlikely to be much of a future deterrent to this criminal or others.
Pound to a pinch he won’t do the unpaid work either
Defrauding the elderly is despicable. It should be punished with a prison sentence.