Quartet of fraudsters convicted for £21 million loss in cryptocurrency

All five were associates of James Parker, who masterminded the conspiracy from his home in Blackpool over a three-month period between October 2017 and January 2018. Parker identified and then exploited a loophole on the cryptocurrency trading platform, which allowed him and his associates to dishonestly obtain credits worth £21 million at that time.

Over three months, Parker withdrew dishonestly obtained crypto assets worth £15 million from his trading account. His associates, Caton and Robinson, dishonestly withdrew £2.7 million and £1.7 million respectively from their accounts.

Parker’s financial advisor Boys worked with a UK national based in Dubai to convert the cryptocurrency into cash. It was then laundered through various foreign-based online accounts such that the offenders could realise the benefits of their crime.

In January last year, Parker died before he could be prosecuted and brought to justice. The Crown Prosecution Service Civil Recovery Unit worked with specialist officers from the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit to identify the assets obtained through his unlawful conduct and also to obtain a Civil Recovery Order in the High Court with an estimated value of nearly £1,000,000.

A “very significant amount” of the laundered assets have been returned or are otherwise in the process of being recovered on behalf of the Australian cryptocurrency exchange.

Increasing threat

Jonathan Kelleher of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “From the comfort of their own homes these offenders used the Internet to obtain tens of millions of pounds’ worth of Bitcoin which did not belong to them. Cyber-enabled crime presents an increasing threat to international economic stability, as well as to honest individual investors in cryptocurrency.”

Kelleher added: “The Crown Prosecution Service advised our police partners throughout this international investigation. Painstaking analysis of vast amounts of digital material and collaborative liaison with the Australian and Finnish authorities enabled us to mount a successful prosecution against these criminals.”

Detective Superintendent David Wainwright of the Lancashire Police concluded: “This was a large and complex case in which these offenders have now been brought to justice. I would like to thank everyone who worked as a team, together with our partner agencies, to achieve this successful outcome.”