A business owner from Abbey Wood has been prosecuted by the Royal Borough of Greenwich for making counterfeit credit cards.
In November 2013 the Internal Audit & Anti-Fraud team at the Royal Borough began investigating Kingsley Aimufua, 51, after it was identified that between August 2011 and November 2013 over thirty repeated payments were made to his Council Tax account for his home in Abbey Wood, using compromised credit card details. The payments were made via an automated telephone system and totalled over £8,000 although related to an actual amount of just over £1,000 - because the payments kept bouncing back from the bank as unpaid; the total amount was over £8,000 in total payments.
The investigation established all of the compromised details used to make payments to the Royal Borough of Greenwich were made from cards issued by non-UK based banks. The investigation identified that Mr Aimufua had moved to a Welling address in 2013 and was the sole director of a company, K Square Associates Ltd. The company had an office in Erith, offered an online facility for direct purchases as well as a shop on EBay under the name, K Square Prints.
In February 2014 search warrants were executed on the business address of K Square Associates Ltd, as well as the home address of Mr Aimufua, in a joint operation between the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Borough of Greenwich Internal Audit & Anti-Fraud team.
At the business premises a quantity of white credit card style blank cards, with magnetic strips, were found - a number of which contained embedded chips. Also found at the business premises was a card reader, card printer, card embossing machine and a card cutter.
Mr Aimufua was arrested at his home address in Welling where a number of laptops were seized. He was interviewed under caution during which he made no comment responses to all questions put to him and was subsequently released on bail to allow time for the forensic examination of items seized from his business premises and home address.
Forensic examinations found that the magnetic strip on a small number of the white cards contained information of a credit card number. The examination also found that the laptops seized from the home address of Mr Aimufua had been used to access websites from which compromised card details had been purchased. It was also established that what were initially believed to be embedded chips within a number of the blank cards were in fact mobile phone sim card chips.
In October 2014, Mr Aimufua was charged with offences under the Fraud Act 2006 in relation to possession of articles for use in fraud, in relation to the equipment found at his business premises. At his initial Crown Court hearing Mr Aimufua entered a plea of not guilty to all charges but in April 2016, on the day his trial was due to start, he changed his plea to guilty on four charges of possession of articles for use in fraud.
On 23 May 2016, at Blackfriars Crown Court, Mr Aimufua was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months.
Cllr Maureen O’Mara (top left), Cabinet Member for Customer Services & Anti-Fraud, said: “Credit card fraud is not a victimless crime. As well as purchasing goods, they are often used fraudulently to pay rent or Council Tax, which in effect, takes money from the public purse that the Council would otherwise use for services for our residents. Where we discover fraud we will always prosecute and seek to take back any monies from the offender, monies that the banks claim back from us, once a genuine person’s credit or debit card account has been compromised. At least Mr Aimufua has since paid back in full the full amount that he defrauded from the Council.”
If you suspect someone of committing fraud against the Royal Borough of Greenwich, call 0800 169 6975 or email fraud@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. Any information you give will be treated in strictest confidence.
In November 2013 the Internal Audit & Anti-Fraud team at the Royal Borough began investigating Kingsley Aimufua, 51, after it was identified that between August 2011 and November 2013 over thirty repeated payments were made to his Council Tax account for his home in Abbey Wood, using compromised credit card details. The payments were made via an automated telephone system and totalled over £8,000 although related to an actual amount of just over £1,000 - because the payments kept bouncing back from the bank as unpaid; the total amount was over £8,000 in total payments.
The investigation established all of the compromised details used to make payments to the Royal Borough of Greenwich were made from cards issued by non-UK based banks. The investigation identified that Mr Aimufua had moved to a Welling address in 2013 and was the sole director of a company, K Square Associates Ltd. The company had an office in Erith, offered an online facility for direct purchases as well as a shop on EBay under the name, K Square Prints.
In February 2014 search warrants were executed on the business address of K Square Associates Ltd, as well as the home address of Mr Aimufua, in a joint operation between the Metropolitan Police and the Royal Borough of Greenwich Internal Audit & Anti-Fraud team.
At the business premises a quantity of white credit card style blank cards, with magnetic strips, were found - a number of which contained embedded chips. Also found at the business premises was a card reader, card printer, card embossing machine and a card cutter.
Mr Aimufua was arrested at his home address in Welling where a number of laptops were seized. He was interviewed under caution during which he made no comment responses to all questions put to him and was subsequently released on bail to allow time for the forensic examination of items seized from his business premises and home address.
Forensic examinations found that the magnetic strip on a small number of the white cards contained information of a credit card number. The examination also found that the laptops seized from the home address of Mr Aimufua had been used to access websites from which compromised card details had been purchased. It was also established that what were initially believed to be embedded chips within a number of the blank cards were in fact mobile phone sim card chips.
In October 2014, Mr Aimufua was charged with offences under the Fraud Act 2006 in relation to possession of articles for use in fraud, in relation to the equipment found at his business premises. At his initial Crown Court hearing Mr Aimufua entered a plea of not guilty to all charges but in April 2016, on the day his trial was due to start, he changed his plea to guilty on four charges of possession of articles for use in fraud.
On 23 May 2016, at Blackfriars Crown Court, Mr Aimufua was sentenced to 21 months imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered to undertake 200 hours of unpaid work within the next 12 months.
Cllr Maureen O’Mara (top left), Cabinet Member for Customer Services & Anti-Fraud, said: “Credit card fraud is not a victimless crime. As well as purchasing goods, they are often used fraudulently to pay rent or Council Tax, which in effect, takes money from the public purse that the Council would otherwise use for services for our residents. Where we discover fraud we will always prosecute and seek to take back any monies from the offender, monies that the banks claim back from us, once a genuine person’s credit or debit card account has been compromised. At least Mr Aimufua has since paid back in full the full amount that he defrauded from the Council.”
If you suspect someone of committing fraud against the Royal Borough of Greenwich, call 0800 169 6975 or email fraud@royalgreenwich.gov.uk. Any information you give will be treated in strictest confidence.
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