Fraudsters who stole members’ personal details from the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC) and used them for bogus claims have been sentenced to jail.
Kayode Sanni received a jail term of five years and three months; Emmanuel Odeyemi, three and a half years; Adedamole Oyebode, two years (suspended for two years); and Chantelle Gumbs, 15 months (suspended for two years).
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MailOnline report said the CSSC – with about 120,000 public sector employees and pensioners as part of its members list – details were used over a four-year period to place orders for tax credit starter packs. They were also used to create fake identities, purchase online insurance, and open false bank accounts.
Oyebode was a CSSC events manager who stole the lists and passed them on to others in exchange for money. She was with CSSC from 2008 to 2010.
If not for staff at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) spotting the unusual rate of claims supposedly being made by civil servants, the four could have got away with over £10 million. The report said fraudulent proceeds received by the group amounted to £2.5 million.
“These defendants went to exceptionally complex and sophisticated lengths in their orchestration of this fraud,” said prosecutor Allison Hunter QC, as quoted by the report.
Meanwhile, two other members of the group are said to be at large.
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