Money laundering three spared prison by judge

THREE young Oldham men who became involved in a "cynical con" aimed at stealing thousands of pounds from vulnerable women have been spared jail.

The three, who had no previous convictions, allowed their bank accounts to be used by those behind the criminal scheme, Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court was told.

Sentencing the trio, Judge Timothy Mort said: "I accept you had your heads turned in payment for a sum of money - probably a few hundred pounds."

He added, however: "If I thought for a minute you had any idea of what was really going on and what the victims were subjected to, you would have been going into immediate custody."

Mohammed Khan (18), of Queen's Road, Oldham, Mohammed Hussain (18), of Trafalgar Street, Oldham, and Jubel Khan (22), of Garforth Street, Oldham, were each made subject to a 12-month community service order involving 115 hours' unpaid work, and an extra rehabilitation requirement.

All three, who live close to each other in the town, had pleaded guilty to money laundering charges.

Jonathan Savage, prosecuting, said that in 2015 a victim aged 50 had been duped into putting £9,000 into a bank account whose details she had been given, after having a call from a man posing as an officer in the Fraud Department at Scotland Yard.

In an almost identical scenario, an 86-year old woman was conned into transferring a similar amount of money after receiving a call from a man claiming he was a Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard.

Mr Savage said that victims,who had been reimbursed, had been significantly affected by their experiences.

The court was told that to a degree the three men had themselves been duped by the masterminds behind the scheme.

Paul Darnborough for Jubel Khan, said his client had been "a hod carrier, not the architect."