Man laundered £500k in IT scam manipulating elderly

A man has been jailed for his part in a scam which manipulated hundreds of victims, often elderly people or those with poor IT knowledge, into paying inflated prices for needless computer repairs.

In many cases, victims of the operation were persuaded to grant remote access to their computers and some were repeatedly contacted over months and encouraged to make further payments.

Gyaltse Yolmo laundered £580,000 as part of the £2 million operation, most of which was transferred to fraudsters overseas.

The 42-year-old, of Purton in Swindon, was sentenced to 38 months in prison at Leeds Crown Court on 10 February, after pleading guilty to money laundering.

The scam was orchestrated by two brothers based in India, who operated a network of companies posing as well-known and trusted technology brands including HP, Microsoft and Norton, with misleading Google and Bing adverts.

Money launderers in the UK - including Yolmo - helped move and conceal the criminal proceeds.

Between November 2015 and January 2019, Yolmo was the sole director of UK Infotech Technology Ltd, one company of several which existed to receive payments from victims of the fraud.

In many cases, victims paid more for the supposed "repairs" than it would have cost to buy a new computer, Trading Standards said. One person paid more than £4,400 to people he believed worked for HP.

Lord Bichard, chair of National Trading Standards, said: "The victims of this fraud were deliberately targeted, misled and frightened into believing their computers were compromised.

"They were pressured into handing over money and left feeling anxious, distressed and fearful of using technology they once relied upon.

"One even compared the experience to having a criminal intrude into their home."

Yolmo, who was the final member of the criminal network to be sentenced, was also banned from running a business for six years.

Follow BBC Wiltshire on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.