Crime gang convicted after recruiting teenage girls for £500k shoplifting scam

Members of a crime gang who recruited, trafficked and exploited teenage girls into a £500,000 nationwide shoplifting scam have been convicted of modern slavery and fraud offences.

The criminal gang from Cambridge, London and Essex recruited, trained and trafficked teenage girls across the country to commit refund fraud in high street stores using fake receipts.

Over 30 girls, who were around 14 years old on average, were paid for their crimes, and offered perks like overnight stays and takeaway meals, the Crown Prosecution Service said.

The scam, led by Isaiah Olugosi, 38, made at least £500,000 in just over two years between January 2018 and March 2020 with girls committing a fraud every week.

Olugosi, from Ely, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, possession of articles for use in frauds, transferring criminal property and conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel or another person with a view to exploitation.

His wife Holly Chapman, 31, admitted transferring criminal property after her bank accounts were used to deposit cash from the scam.

Olugosi trained Baran Karamagara, 22, to take over the day-to-day-management of the operation and he was involved in driving the girls around.

Karamagara pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel or another person with a view to exploitation.

Eva Dambrauskaite, 21, of Buckhurst Hill, Essex, was found guilty following a trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court of two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, possession of articles for use in frauds, transferring criminal property conspiracy to arrange or facilitate travel or another person with a view to exploitation and possession of a class B drug.

Officers from the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit uncovered the extensive criminal enterprise after receiving intelligence from children’s services partners in 2020 who highlighted safeguarding concerns.

Girls were recruited via social media platforms, and approached on the street, mainly from Greater London and Essex.

Olugosi was tracked over six days by Predatory Offender Unit officers before he was finally arrested in Bradford, West Yorkshire on 1 September 2020.

The crime ringleader had already created a new life for himself, living in a rented room under an assumed name to evade arrest.

The gang's conviction is believed to be the first time the Modern Slavery Act has been applied to a fraud enterprise in UK law.

Marie Olo, of the Crown Prosecution Service said: "The girls were selected because they were vulnerable with difficult backgrounds or mental health problems, and when they were caught, he was perfectly willing to step back and let them face arrest and potential prosecution."When he [Olugosi] learned the police had discovered his involvement he tried desperately but unsuccessfully to destroy evidence and hide money."

All four are due to appear at the same court for sentencing at a later date.