iStockThree “highly educated” members of a crime gang who helped con a Scots millionaire in a £2m gold bullion scam have been jailed for a total of 11 and a half years.
An 86-year-old woman was targeted amid claims her “money was at threat”.
The Lanarkshire-based widow had been contacted by an individual allegedly called Garry Reid stating he worked for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
He said he was carrying out a probe on banks and similar institutions in her local area.
Reid told her to “cash in” her investments and eventually got the woman to use her money to buy the gold bars.
This was then delivered to her home before being collected by crew members posing as “couriers”.
At one stage, the unwitting OAP even thanked Reid “for all you have done for me”.
Instead, the bullion was initially ferried to London before being shifted elsewhere. It has never been traced by the authorities.
The victim was left badly affected both mentally and financially by how she was duped.
Arrests were made during the large-scale Operation Tailpiece police probe into the fraud.
Sunil Theyath – one of the leading figures of the gang – along with associates Umar Mohammed and Hafeeza Samreen, were sentenced on Thursday after earlier admitting to their guilt.
Lord Harrower jailed Theyath, 40, for five years and three months, Mohammed, 40, for three years and nine months, with Samreen, 35, locked up for two and a half years.
The judge said: “I am not aware of any offence of courier fraud in which financial harm of anything like this scale has been caused to an individual.
“The loss of such an astonishingly large amount of money will be difficult for anyone, but given the age and vulnerability of the woman, the offence has been devastating.
“It has affected her ability to meet daily living costs and impacted her making plans for herself and making provisions for her family.
“She now feels constantly worried and ashamed. She has only been able to recover a small fraction of the money.
“Any compensation she may receive does not diminish the financial harm caused.”
The High Court in Glasgow heard how the widow had received phone calls and WhatsApp messages from Garry Reid, who claimed to be carrying out urgent investigations in his role with the FCA.
Prosecutor John Keenan KC: “He told her that her money was not safe.
“He persuaded her to cash in her investment portfolio and move the funds to her other bank accounts.
“He then instructed her to purchase bars of gold bullion, which she did to the value of £1,918,411. These were delivered to her home.”
This occurred on five separate occasions in July 2023.
Garry Reid was said to have “manipulated” the OAP and was in regular contact with her throughout the fraud.
Theyath held a “senior position” in the gang. He ordered others – including married couple Mohammed, 40, and 35-year-old Samreen – to collect the gold bars on the pretence they were being picked up by couriers.
Theyath helped carry out the scam despite being back in India having gone there via Dubai from the UK.
Mr Keenan said: “The woman was told that the couriers were not supposed to know what was in the packages.”
It was only Samreen – wearing a black face mask each time – who would actually meet and speak with the pensioner.
The prosecutor: “She would give a password that was given to the woman and the accused by Garry Reid.
“Once the gold was taken to London, its final destination was unknown, and it was never recovered.
“The person pretending to be Garry Reid has not been traced to date.”
The court heard Theyath was “closely associated” with this individual.
This included him sending the same mis-spelt directions to Mohammed for the woman’s address that he had originally been given by Garry Reid.
On the day of the first pick-up, Mohammed, Samreen and an associate got lost in Lanarkshire.
Mr Keenan said: “Mohammed took a picture of a building which showed their location.
“This was saved on his mobile phone. The same image was received by the woman from Garry Reid just over a minute later.”
It eventually led to the duped woman driving instead to meet them.
Days later, the victim messaged Garry Reid hoping she had not “offended” him for “saying the couriers seemed unprofessional”.
The text went on: “They just seemed so out of place in the middle of the country.
“Many apologies and the last thing I want to do if offend you after all you are doing for me.”
Reid replied she had no need to say sorry adding “we take pride in our job” and that they are “leading the financial sector in the United Kingdom”.
The court heard how Mohammed complained during another collection that the gold was “very heavy” and “difficult to walk with”.
Samreen was also captured on CCTV at a service station close to the woman’s home buying a drink.
Mr Keenan said it was difficult to establish how much Theyath earned from his role.
But, he said it was “reasonable to assess” that his financial gain was “significant”.
The advocate depute stated they were “questionable transactions” in Theyath’s UK bank accounts.
This included a total of £37,590 being received from “various IT companies”.
Another showed he was seemingly employed by a similar firm the day after his first contact with Garry Reid and the pensioner.
A total of £32,751 was paid in as well as a further £18,348 into an online account.
After being arrested, Samreen told police that she and Mohammed got £1,000 for each gold collection.
The court heard Mohammed has another wife who lives in India.
Theyath pleaded guilty to a charge of directing others to commit an offence connected with serious organised crime.
Mohammed and Samreen each admitted to being involved in serious organised crime.
The trio were last known to have stayed in Romford, East London and Eastbourne, East Sussex.
Theyath’s lawyer, Graeme Robertson, said: “He is a man who has enjoyed much privilege in his upbringing, which was financially comfortable.”
Theyath claimed he had initially wanted to “broaden his business interests”, but that “quickly then led to criminality”.
Mohammed claimed in a pre-sentencing report that he did not know he was ferrying bullion.
Lord Harrower remarked to his lawyer, Victoria Dow: “If he did not think it was gold, what did he think was in the package?”
Ms Dow said: “He recognises his conduct was illegal.”
Graeme Brown, defending Samreen, said she was “struggling financially” at the time.
The judge said Samreen’s claims that she believed she was causing “no harm” to the victim “beggars belief”.
Sentencing, Lord Harrower stated the trio were “all highly educated individuals” and had been involved in a “sophisticated operation”.
Theyath was also a hit with a so-called ‘super-Asbo” – designed to tackle and monitor criminals when they are freed. This will last for five years.
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