West Midlands fraudster who went on the run recaptured

A man who absconded after being sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for a £700,000 fraud has been recaptured by the National Crime Agency.

28-year-old Marvin Campbell was sentenced in his absence after he failed to appear at Birmingham Crown Court in December 2015.

He was arrested by National Crime Agency officers on 25 January at an address in Halesowen, West Midlands.

An extra two months was added to his sentence.

Campbell and his associate, 33-year-old Henry Ogunde, netted £730,000 in cash and goods in a variety of frauds that targeted major retailers, businesses and private individuals.

One scam involved approaching people on the streets of the West Midlands, taking them for dinner and buying them clothes in order to gain their trust.

The pair then used their victims to set up bank accounts, fake companies and move cash - if they resisted they were often met with the threat of violence.

Their targets included unemployed people living in social housing or with no fixed address.

They were promised up to £40,000 for their complicity but most received only a few hundred pounds.

Another scheme involved sending fraudulent emails to companies and private individuals pretending to be suppliers or customers.

The fraudsters then diverted payments into a money laundering account set up and controlled by Campbell’s crime group and used their victims to withdraw and move the cash.

One transaction stole £154,000 in life savings from an elderly man.

The pair and their money mules were uncovered following a complex investigation by the National Crime Agency which connected an online forum dealing in stolen credit card details with the network.

The NCA worked in partnership with West Midlands Police Economic Crime Unit to facilitate the arrests of key individuals.

Fourteen people, including Ogunde and Campbell, were sentenced at Birmingham Crown Court on 10th and 11th December 2015.

John Glen, Peter Cooksey, Dawn Simmons, Andrew Elliott, Carla Fay, Mohammed Ahmed, Jomma Jerare, Patrick Rowlings, Emma Sadler, Rhiannon Aston, Lawrence Bond and Constant Njogu all received suspended sentences, supervision arrangements, curfews and community service.

Henry Ogunde was sentenced to 5 years 6 months in prison.

If you have been a victim of fraud or have been approached by somebody asking you to facilitate fraud, you can report it at actionfraud.police.uk.