By James Simons
Two jailed fraudsters from Kempston have been ordered to pay back over £67,000 to their victims.
Carl Anthony, 38, and Stephanie Anthony, 36, of Silverdale Street, Kempston, were convicted for a number of fraud and money laundering offences back in 2012.
At the time, they were ordered to pay back around £6,200 at the time
Anthony used social media to pose as a legitimate loan provider and steal £45,000 from victims, before photographing himself with wads of cash.
Hindle used adverts on social media to falsely claim he could arrange loans for people with poor credit ratings, or get them refunds on banking charges they’d incurred. In order to execute his fraudulent intentions, he requested the bank card, pin, online banking passwords and answers to security questions. When cops seized his phone after his arrest in July 2017 , they found dozens of pictures of the crook posing with items he had purchased and the cash he had made from their respective sales.
The first victim Hindle swindled was in April 2016 for a loan of £11,000. He later visited the victim’s house with four other dubious characters in a green Ford Focus and fraudulently obtained the victim’s bank card. His gang of fraudsters spread the cards and their details to others who used them to purchase cigarettes, alcohol, electrical items and fuel from self-service petrol stations.
Following a fresh investigation by the Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU), the pair were ordered to pay back a total of 67,529,93 to their victims. Anothert fraudster Ikechukwa Aguh, of Luton, was also ordered to pay back more than £4,000.
The trio have been given an additional 3 months to cough up the cash needs to be paid within three months or the defendants face more jail time.
Nick Bentley, financial investigation manager at the Regional Asset Confiscation Enforcement Team, said: “It is absolutely right that the victims of crime are compensated for the hurt and stress that they are caused.
“We will continue to ensure that people comply with the Proceeds of Crime Act and do not benefit from financial crime.”