TWO brothers who conspired to plunder the wages of British Army and Navy servicemen while they fought for their country in Iraq have had their jail sentences cut by top judges.
Abiodun Adepoju, of Goffsmill, Bretton, Peterborough, used false documents to open a string of accounts with his half-brother Omowale (21) and illegal immigrant Abdul Malik, who had managed to get a job at the British Forces Post Office, in London –
a position which enabled him to handle diplomats’ bags at Heathrow Airport.
The trio, with other suspected accomplices, used the accounts to launder money diverted from other accounts relating to Army regiments and Royal Navy ships, and high ranking services personnel.
The Ministry of Defence believes that more than £120,000 was stolen through forged cheques, while up to £130,000 may have been obtained on stolen credit cards.
Adepoju, of Goffsmill, Bretton, Peterborough, and Omowale Adepoju, from Barnet – who appeared in court under his assumed identity, Abdul Odebiyi – were both jailed for four years at Harrow Crown Court in June.
They had admitted conspiracy to defraud between March 2003 and March 2004.
Their sentences were cut to two and a half years each by Lady Justice Hallett, Mr Justice King and Judge Warwick McKinnon, sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court.
The court heard that Malik – who went on the run after his arrest and skipped bail – used his job in the London sorting office to steal mail heading overseas, before selling it to the brothers, who are both Nigerian nationals.
Judge Barrington Black had said whilst sentencing the pair: “The aggravating feature of this particular case is that it is reprehensible beyond comprehension.
“While soldiers, sailors and airmen were representing their country overseas, their wages were being plundered by those who seek to feather their nests in a culture of deceit and flagrant dishonesty.
“If I were asked to write a thesis on fraud, then this case would provide me with sufficient material to write several volumes.”
Despite those comments, Mr Justice King allowed both men’s appeals.
He said: “In the judgment of this court, these sentences were too long for an offence of this nature, albeit a conspiracy over some time, with some sophistication and with large sums involved.
“The sentences imposed did not reflect their ages or guilty pleas.”
The full article contains 393 words and appears in Peterborough ET newspaper.
