Gang members who preyed on vulnerable to tune of £213,000 told to pay back £2,435 - with two paying just £1

Two of them were told to pay a nominal amount of £1 each because they have no assets.

Rejwanul Islam, Mohammed Kashem and his three nephews Mohammed Nasir Miah, Mohammed Nawaz Miah and Mohammed Nazeem Miah were part of a gang of eight who were involved in nationwide telephone fraud in 2016.

They targeted 50 victims across Worcestershire, Warwickshire, Cumbria, the West Midlands, Avon and Somerset, Gloucestershire and Thames Valley, ranging from 49 to 96 years old, who were called on their landline telephone numbers and asked to hand over money.

The scammers told victims they were police investigating fraud to try and convince them to give them money.

Of the 50, 15 people were taken in and the scammers made more than £200,000.

Police were able to break up the operation after two of the couriers were arrested in Ludlow. In February this year, the eight were sentenced to more than 21 years in prison in total.

Now five of them have been made the subject of confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

They appeared at Worcester Crown Court on December 13 where Judge Nicholas Cartwright heard the evidence.

Rejwanul Islam, 26, of Wroxhall Road, Dagenham, was involved in co-ordinating the group and making direct contact with victims on the telephone. He was sentenced to six years imprisonment in February.

Last week he was deemed to have benefitted by £213,000 but only had £1,500 available. He was ordered to pay £1,500 within three months or face a default sentence of 14 additional days in prison.

The three brothers Mohammed Nasir Miah, Mohammed Nawaz Miah and Mohammed Nazeem Miah, all of Parkers Circus in Chipping Norton, acted as couriers.

They visited vulnerable victims across the country to collect cash and bank cards from them.

Mohammed Nasir Miah, 25, was given an 18-month suspended sentence in February.

He was deemed to have benefitted by £10,520 for his role in the fraud. He only had £213 available and was ordered to pay this amount within three months or face seven days as a default sentence.

Mohammed Nawaz Miah, 24, was sent to jail for three years in February, while Mohammed Nazeem Miah, 21, was given 30 months imprisonment.

Both benefited by the full £213,000 but the former had no assets available, so was told to pay a nominal fee of £1 in three months or go to jail for one day.

The latter was told to pay £720 within three months or face a default sentence of 14 days.

Mohammed Kashem, 30, of Hampstead Road in London, was the uncle of the three brothers and was also involved as a courier. He is serving a four-year sentence for the scams.

He was deemed to have benefitted by £213,000 for his role in the fraud but had no assets available and was ordered to pay a nominal amount of £1 within three months or face a default sentence of one day.

The judge also ordered that all sums repaid through the confiscation orders were to be directed as compensation to victims.

Another seven defendants had their confiscation proceedings adjourned until January 29 next year.

West Mercia Police Detective Inspector Emma Wright said: “The defendants in this case took large amounts of money from vulnerable people by abusing the trust those victims have in the police, posing as officers who told the victims they must co-operate with a police investigation.

"These orders recognise the life-changing amounts that were taken from some of these victims. Although the amounts the defendants have been ordered to pay are based on what they have available as assets now, it is important to remember that the total amount they have benefitted remains outstanding for life until every penny has been repaid.

"If these defendants are found to have further assets at any time in the future, the amount they must repay will be raised, until they have paid back all that they took from the victims.

“Cases like this highlight the hard work and dedication by officers and staff across the forces involved, to bring these individuals responsible for serious and organised fraud to justice. This case has involved many hours of painstaking investigative work by both the criminal investigation teams and also by financial investigators.

"The convictions and subsequent confiscation orders in this case show that West Mercia Police will pursue offenders who directly target the elderly and vulnerable, including stripping them of any assets they have gained through crime. I hope this will deter other criminals who may be involved in these despicable offences, by showing that they will be convicted and have their ill-gotten gains removed.

“Being able to remove assets under Proceeds of Crime Act can then compensate the victims of the crime, bringing some comfort to those who were so cruelly targeted.”

The police never ask anyone to hand over cash or valuables.

Anyone who receives a call of that nature is advised to hang up, wait 10 minutes and then call 101, or 999 in an emergency, to report it.