A member of an identity theft gang which stole more than £400,000 from scores of victims is facing a lengthy prison sentence.
Nicolas Santos, 29, was caught on camera withdrawing money and paying for petrol with cards for fake accounts set up in real victims’ names.
The fraud was discovered when police searched a garage in Portland Road in Worthing last September and discovered 28 phones with different names taped to their back.
Officers also discovered 45 fake driving licences and 22 bank accounts, with the same surnames as the phones were labelled with.
Also found were 24 genuine letters or documents in the same names, some of which were limited companies.
Santos, of Palermo Road in Brent, London, was tracked down after officers from ATMs and petrol station receipts, which allowed police to obtain CCTV footage with him in it.
He was arrested after the car he was driving at the petrol station was flagged by an automatic numberplate recognition camera in Watford last September.
He pleaded guilty to a string of fraud offences, and was due to be sentenced today at Hove Crown Court.
Prosecuting, Ruth Reid said after the garage was searched, the items inside were linked to 60 complaints made to Action Fraud.
She said that genuine documents appeared to have been used to set up bank accounts with the phones and fake IDs.
She said: “Loans were then obtained and sent to those counts fraudulently and then cash was withdrawn from those accounts for the purpose of this criminal enterprise.
“Mr Santos entered guilty pleas on the basis he’s not the only part to this enterprise. It’s clearly a large enterprise, there’s a large number of victims and theft and fraud. It’s clear from the documents found the intention was to carry on with the same pattern.”
One of the names on the cards and phones was Jasmine Piper, who police interviewed. She said a fake account had been set up in her name, into which £40,000 loans also in her name had been paid. This was then withdrawn £500 at a time, to a total of £13,000.
Another victim, James Glenister, had £17,000 paid into his fake bank account, a mixture of loans or transfers from other fraudulent accounts. Of this, £11,500 was withdrawn.
A third victim, John Berry, had £62,780 in loans taken out in his name or transferred from other accounts, of which £16,500 was withdrawn.
She said that after he was arrested, a search of his home found multiple IDs with his picture and different names.
Defending, Pierre-Marie Dievart said: “He was approached by someone who said they were involved in property management and thought he would be collecting mail. He had no idea of the extent and expansive nature of the criminal enterprise that was taking place until he was arrested.
“He was never asked to make withdrawals until one day when he was told that the person who usually does that was not well.
“Mr Santos was told by those who instructed him to go to several banks and money was handed over to that person.
“He accepts he shouldn’t have continued doing that but in relation to the instigation of the offence, it would suggest that he held a peripheral role in the organisation.”
So far, Santos is the only person who has been arrested, but the investigation is ongoing.
The sentencing was adjourned until next month. Santos has been remanded in custody to await the next hearing.
