'Wicked' conman jailed after swindling pensioners out of more than £1.5m from his Salford flat

A 'wicked' conman has been jailed after orchestrating a complex banking scam from his Salford flat, swindling pensioners across the country out of more than £1.5m.

Azeem Mohammed, 33, played a 'leading role' in the operation, which targeted vulnerable elderly people.

Scammers used various phone numbers manned by different members of the group to convince their victims they were fraud investigators from high street banks such as HSBC, Barclays, Lloyds and Nationwide.

By claiming people's accounts were 'under attack', elderly and often frail victims were put under 'relentless pressure', being contacted several times a day.

Victims were tricked into handing over personal information; sending copies of ID documents; buying mobile phones; installing software on their laptops which allowed fraudsters to 'take control'; setting up new bank accounts; and transferring huge sums of money to new accounts.

"Victims were also persuaded not to speak to their local bank branch, friends or family about this breach out of fear that it would cause them more financial difficulty," Tyrone Scott, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court.

"This amount of deception enabled the criminal group to gain control of their accounts and complete substantial transfers out of their accounts."

The names of two fictional 'investigators' were repeatedly used - James Black and Steven Cunningham. They linked to Mohammed via phone numbers. Such was the complexity of the scam, a former bank manager was also among the victims.

The judge said it was 'hard to see what [the victims] could have done' other than going into their branch to query requests. People had parcels, including one containing gold bars, sent to them. They were told were 'tests' and ordered to send on to an address in Glasgow.

Mohammed was caught after he 'made a mistake' in April 2021, by ringing HSBC with the account and sort code of a suspected victim - however he gave his own name.

"During the call he appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs and it may be this that caused him to make the mistake of giving his own name rather the name of the account holder," Mr Silcott said.

"It is telling that the defendant was caught using the stolen details and is illustrative of a leading role," Mr Silcott added. Mohammed, originally from Scotland but who was living in Greater Manchester, was arrested on April 23. His flat at Wilburn Basin on Ordsall Lane, Ordsall, was searched.

Three of the numbers used by 'Steven Cunningham' related to SIM cards in an iPhone 14 that was found at the flat.

Mohammed pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud. He admitted in a basis of plea to defrauding nine victims over the course of three years - April 2021 to April 2024 - to the tune of £958, 949. The court was told the 'wider conspiracy' raked in more than £1.5m.

His victims included a widower who had recently lost his wife, as well as a couple who had lost their child and were saving for their grandchild's education. Banks refunded some of the victims' money, but not all.

Mohammed has a previous conviction for almost identical offending. He was part of an 'international organised crime gang that targeted elderly Scottish people' in a 'series of elaborate scams'.

"He accepts as a consequence of his own actions this will hit his family hard," Julian King, defending, said. "He wishes to move forward with his life in a lawful way."

Judge Suzanne Goddard KC jailed Mohammed for six years and nine months. She told him: "This is the most sophisticated and complex banking fraud against individuals I have seen in my 38 years in the criminal law. It was committed against exclusively elderly who had significant sums of money in their bank accounts.

"What you did was wicked. You mercilessly pressured and manipulated your victims with the false suggestion that their accounts were under attack from fraudsters and that they needed to follow your instructions.

"That allowed you and your conspirators to transfer significant sums of money from their bank accounts. Such was the careful planning you and your associates were able to convince them that you were genuine and that they needed to co-operate."

She said the impact on them had been 'devastating', adding: "It is telling they have found the stoicism to carry on with their lives and make the best of things, despite the enormous financial loss they have suffered. It is perhaps a testament to the stoicism of people of their generation."

Judge Goddard said 'no one knows' how the scammers obtained the 'initial information', including the victims' names, addresses and the amounts of money they had. She said it was a 'reasonable conclusion' that it somehow came 'from inside the banks themselves'.

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