'Cruel and cunning' fraudsters who scammed elderly victim at funeral jailed over £265,000 crime spree

Selfie: Mominur Rahman posing with a wad of cash in a Facebook photo
Metropolitan Police
Tom Marshall19 August 2015
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two “cruel and cunning” fraudsters have been jailed for tricking elderly people out of £265,000 – including one who was scammed while at a funeral.

Greedy conmen Abdul Mohib, 23, and 19-year-old Mominur Rahman – who celebrated his crimes by taking a selfie with a wad of cash against his face – persuaded one 68-year-old victim to hand over £8,500 while they were at a friend’s funeral, according to police.

The devious fraudsters preyed on vulnerable and elderly people across London over a 10-week period from August to October last year, taking large sums and leaving them feeling “humiliated”, officers said.

They fooled one 85-year-old into giving them £28,250 over a three-day period, and stole a gold Rolex watch worth £20,850 from another victim aged 80.

The duo cheated their targets using a "particularly unpleasant" version of the notorious ‘courier fraud’ tactic.

Fraudster: Abdul Mohib
Metropolitan Police

They would phone victims on landlines while posing as a police officer, warn them their bank accounts had been defrauded and urge them to ring the bank straight away.

However, the con artists kept the line open so it was they that answered when victims tried to make the call.

The pair would then persuade them to provide bank details or even to withdraw and hand over large sums of cash – telling them this was just part of the police investigation.

The fraudsters bamboozled their victims with police jargon and even invited them to bogus court hearings as well as providing fake crime reference numbers.

But they were captured after an investigation by Westminster’s serious acquisitive crime unit dubbed Operation Juventus.

The men pleaded guilty to a total of 27 offences committed over the 10-week stretch and were jailed at Southwark Crown Court on Tuesday.

Mohib, of Frederick Street, King’s Cross, was locked up for three years and eight months and teenager Rahman received 12 months.

Jailed: Mominur Rahman was handed a one-year sentence
Metropolitan Police

Detective Constable Will Richards said: "This is a particularly unpleasant version of the courier fraud scam that exploits its victims' sense of public duty and preparedness to go to extraordinary lengths to help the police.

“Beyond their significant financial losses, these offences undermine victims' self-confidence and trust in others.

“Many were left feeling vulnerable and humiliated. This was a cruel and cunning scam, and the only people who should feel humiliated by it are those responsible.

"These crimes were clearly well-planned and practiced. Abdul Mohib kept victims on the phone for several hours and did his best to prevent them from discussing what was happening with their families.

"I hope that today's result will increase public awareness of this type of crime."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in