Truro woman jailed for role in £1.2m IT scam

A Cornwall woman has been jailed for several years for her role in a massive computer scam that conned elderly and vulnerable people into paying thousands of pounds to fix non-existent computer problems. Amanda Griggs, 66, from Goonhavern, near Truro, is one of five people to be sentenced at Leeds Crown Court for her role in the scam.

The court heard that between May 2015 and November 2019, the gang transferred £1,289,837 to two brothers based in India who posed as representatives of HP, Microsoft, Norton and Epson to defraud their victims. Fake companies posted online ads to lure victims in before making them believe there were problems with their computers when in fact there weren’t.

Victims were told that bogus problems could be fixed for a fee and were persuaded to allow remote access to their computers. The group laundered the money through a series of UK-based firms that existed only to receive payments from consumers, before passing it on to fraudsters in India.

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They imposed themselves as company executives and instead kept a percentage of the money for themselves. A man paid a total of £4,427.96 to people he believed worked for HP to fix an alleged problem with his computer.

A money laundering investigation was led by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, which is based at City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council. Following the sentencing earlier this week, Ruth Andrews, Head of Regional Investigations and eCrime at City of York Council, added: “This case demonstrates that those who are helping the main criminals by taking a no-nonsense approach to fraud and turning a blind eye. – despite their suspicions and multiple warning flags – they will still be brought to justice.

“Without these defendants the fraud would not have worked, as their laundering of the proceeds of crime was an essential element from which they also personally benefited. We hope this sends a message to like-minded people who believe it is acceptable to profit from the frauds of others, including those targeting the elderly and vulnerable.”

Lord Michael Bichard, chairman of National Trading Standards, said the gang had “no qualms about enriching themselves on the backs of vulnerable and elderly victims”.

He added: “I hope today’s sentences will serve as a stark reminder to all money launderers that they risk prosecution – no matter how well-coordinated their operations may appear.”

Amy Hogan-Burney, general manager of cyber security and protection policy at Microsoft, welcomed the result. She said: “Microsoft welcomes today’s verdict and remains committed to working with governments and across industry to combat tech support fraud and hold perpetrators accountable.”

Griggs, a former director of now-defunct UK Technologies Ltd, was jailed for three years, while Jose Kuriakose, 50, of Rectory Road, Deal, Kent, was jailed for 50 months. Gena Harrington, 39, of Cornwall Road, Handsworth, Birmingham, was jailed for 30 months and Bindu Devasia, 49, of Rectory Road, Deal, Kent, was also jailed for eight months, suspended for two years with 150 hours of unpaid work. All four were disqualified for having been company directors for six years.

The fifth member of a fraud gang, Nicholas Alcide, 40, of Regent Walk, Birmingham, was jailed for 15 months suspended for two years, with 150 hours of unpaid work and disqualified for two years of being a company director.