A pair of fraudsters went on a £60,000 spending spree using stolen credit cards to buy designer clothes, shoes and even wedding. Abraham George and Olatunde Emmanuel Lawal from Manchester were sentenced today after police found they had used the stolen money to fund a lavish lifestyle far beyond their means.
Manchester Crown Court heard that when George's home was raided, officers found an unusually high number of designer items with expensive electrical items in every room.
He was also caught with more than £560 worth of alcohol fraudulently bought from Waitrose using stolen cards and his house was strewn with receipts from the fraudulent transactions.
As part of the investigation, officers found George and his wife enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle far beyond their legitimate means of income recorded with the Inland Revenue.
The couple's wedding at the Davenport Green Hotel in Hale Barns, of which the venue alone cost £14,000, was also suspected of being paid for using stolen money.
It was heard in court that George and Lawal met and agreed the fraudulent stolen card scheme at church, and Lawal was paid £50 for each of the transactions by George.
The pair used a stolen Hilton Honours credit card issued by Barclaycard to a genuine cardholder to make more than 40 transactions between May 11, 2012 and May 31, 2012.
The hotel card was used to load pre-paid cards at Paypoint terminals - these can be loaded with a specific amount of money and used as debit cards that are not linked directly to any account.
An unusually high number of designer items were found at George's home when it was raided, including these designer sunglasses, some of which are still in their original cellophane bags
A rack of designer shoes, left, and a pair of red Kurt Geiger heels, right, were among the items bought
George had £560 worth of booze fraudulently bought from Waitrose at his house bought with stolen cards
The genuine cardholder reported that in September 2012 someone accessed her online banking, changed her passwords and made several unauthorised withdrawals and transactions on her account.
The pair pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering at an earlier hearing.
George, 37, of Heaton Park Road, was today sentenced to 24 months imprisonment and Lawal was given a 12 month prison sentence, suspended for two years and 200 hours unpaid work.
Police Constable Andrew Butcher said: 'These men must have thought they had struck gold.
'They managed to get hold of genuine credit card holder's details and went on a spending spree. George, in particular, used the money to kit his house out with designer clothes and expensive electrical items, none of which he could have come close to affording on his wages.
A pair of women's Jimmy Choo designer heels were among the fraudulently bought items, still in their box
Some of the designer handbags found in the raid. George pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering
Along with Lawal, the pair used a stolen Hilton Honours credit card issued by Barclaycard to a genuine cardholder to make more than 40 transactions and spend £32,950. Pictured, a pair of Ralph Lauren shoes
George and Lawal also used a stolen Natwest card to rack up transactions of more than £25,000. Pictured, some of the designer belts found in the raid on George's house
The genuine cardholder of the card they were using to buy designer items, including belts (pictured) reported that in September 2012 someone accessed her online banking and made transactions on her account
'George and Lawal caused considerable distress, upset and unrest to the victims who had their details stolen before defrauding major companies out of tens of thousands of pounds.
'Anyone who has been a victim of this sort of crime will know how unsettling it is to have fraudsters mimic your identity and use your hard-earned cash to fund their criminality.
'That is why I am delighted we have exposed these conmen. They were persistent fraudsters who would still be spending other people's other money today if we had not caught them and I hope this sends a powerful message to other people who think they can get away with this sort of scheme that we will be coming for you.'
Anyone who has their details stolen or has their cards compromised can report fraud by visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.
Officers found George and his wife enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle far beyond their legitimate means of income recorded with the Inland Revenue. Pictured, their living room with a plush sofa and fireplace
When police entered George's Manchester home they found expensive electrical items in every room
Another one of the large plasma TV's discovered at George's home during the raid on his home
What a disgrace
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