ADDRESS PO Box 39913 London EC2A 1YE TELEPHONE 020 3217 8436 EMAIL [email protected] WEB www.financialfraudaction.org.uk PRESS RELEASE For immediate release: 09 October 2014 Leaders of major UK cheque fraud gang jailed The two ringleaders of one of the UK’s largest ever cheque fraud gangs were sent to prison for a total of 18 years at Bradford Crown Court yesterday [8 October 2014]. The sentence follows a nationwide police operation by the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) during which £6.5 million worth of stolen and fake cheques were seized. Onais Hove, 43 of Barnsley, and Charles Nyongo, 43 of Hunslet, Leeds, led an organised criminal gang responsible for stealing and fraudulently manufacturing bank cheques. The sophisticated gang intercepted completed cheques in the post, which they then altered, or photographed blank ones using smartphones to capture the legitimate details which they used to create fake cheques. Originating in Scotland, the group’s criminality spread throughout the country to London. The gang’s victims were widespread, but included hospices, schools, golf clubs and the elderly. The stolen or fake cheques would be cashed through ‘mule’ bank accounts - third party accounts which were usually held by students or more vulnerable members of society. The DCPCU investigation, which began in April 2012, included officers from eight police forces across the country carrying out a number of coordinated raids. During the property searches, officers seized almost 3000 stolen or fake cheques, the most ever recorded by the banking industry, along with the specialist ink and paper used in their manufacture. Police also uncovered computers with cheque templates and ready-made identity kits for ‘mules’ to open false bank accounts. The recovered cheques had a total value of over £6.5 million. DCI Perry Stokes, Head of the DCPCU, said: “We have dismantled a highly organised and professional fraud gang – one of the largest of its kind ever seen in the UK. As the ringleaders, Hove and Nyongo were ruthlessly indiscriminate in selecting their victims. Their knowledge of the bank cheque system was considerable, and our investigation revealed a series of fraud factories across the country. “We are delighted to have brought these criminals to justice and to have removed the threat they posed to British banks and their customers.” Both Hove and Nyongo received sentences of nine years each. The DCPCU is pro-active police unit sponsored by the banking industry and is made up of officers from the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police Service. Since being formed it has achieved an estimated £450m in savings from reduced fraud activity – equating to around £800,000 a week. -Ends- For further information please contact The Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) Press Office on 020 3217 8436 or email [email protected] Notes to editors: 1. Sentences received: Onais Hove, (12/11/1970) of Hollowdene, Barnsley: nine years imprisonment. Charles Nyongo, (04/03/1971) of Gabriel Court, Hunslet, Leeds: nine years imprisonment, along with an extra two years due to a previous suspended sentence. The Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) is a unique pro-active police unit, with a national remit, formed as a partnership between Financial Fraud Action UK, the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police together with the Home Office. It is fully sponsored by the cards and banking industries, with an on-going brief to investigate, target and, where appropriate, arrest and seek successful prosecution of offenders responsible for card, cheque and payment fraud crimes. It is headed up by a Detective Chief Inspector and comprises officers from the Metropolitan and City of London police forces who work alongside banking industry fraud investigators and support staff. Financial Fraud Action UK (FFA UK) is the name under which the financial services industry coordinates its activity on fraud prevention, presenting a united front against financial fraud and its effects. Financial Fraud Action UK (www.financialfraudaction.org.uk) works in partnership with The UK Cards Association on industry initiatives to prevent fraud on credit and debit cards, with the Fraud Control Steering Group on non-card fraud. The UK Cards Association is the trade body for the card payments industry in the UK, representing financial institutions which act as card issuers and acquirers. Members of the Association account for the vast majority of debit and credit cards issued in the UK - issuing in excess of 55 million credit cards and 95 million debit cards - and cover the whole of the payment card acquiring market.