Men impersonated police officers to extort cryptocurrency jailed in UK court first

Three men who impersonated police officers in a bid to extort cryptocurrency have been jailed in a case believed to be the first of its type in the country.

Thomas Green, Leonardo Sapiano and Rayhan Miah were all caught in Spalding in September last year, after reports of the three 24-year-olds acting suspiciously were made to police.

The three men made off in a blue Volkswagen Golf but were stopped by officers. The car was searched and an imitation firearm, a taser, a baseball bat and police uniform in the boot was found and seized.

It was discovered that the police uniform found in the boot of the car was hired from a production props company using false details.

Investigations revealed the three London men had intended to deceive their way into the victim’s home and then attempt to blackmail and use the fear of violence to force the victim into transferring a sum of cryptocurrency to them.

Cryptocurrency is a form of digital or virtual currency, similar to PayPal or bank credit, that can be bought or traded online. It is decentralised, meaning it is not controlled by a government, but by an algorithm and users themselves.

Messages found on Green, Miah and Sapiano’s phones showed the victim’s personal details, and it was later revealed they had obtained this information on the dark web.

The three men pleaded guilty to conspiring to blackmail, and have now been sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court.

Thomas Green, 24, of Tollet Street, London, and Leonardo Sapiano, 24, of Invicta Close, London were sentenced to four years and nine months, while Rayhan Miah, 24, of Monteagle Avenue, Barking was handed a sentence of three years and two months.

Detective Constable Kerry-Anne Kinroy who led the investigation said: “I am pleased we were able to build such a strong case that resulted in custodial sentences for the men involved.

"I’m grateful to my team for all of their hard work and would also like to give thanks to our colleagues in Thames Valley Police, the NCA and the City of London Police for their assistance in the investigation.”

Detective Inspector Richard Nethercott from Boston and South Holland CID said: “I would like to give thanks to DC Kinroy and her team for carrying out an extremely thorough investigation.

“The case involved working with different police forces and utilised specialist knowledge of Economic Crime and Digital Media, and there were some elements of the investigation that Kerry and her team had not encountered before.

“Their dedication and hard work are evident in this case and the three men now face substantial prison sentences because of it.”

Detective Constable Glen Shiels from the Cyber Crime Unit Specialist Operations at City of London Police said: “I am thoroughly impressed with the professionalism and effectiveness into this complex, cyber-enabled crime investigation by DC Kinroy and the wider Lincolnshire Police team.

“Tackling cybercrime is a national effort and I am proud to be of assistance to our colleagues to achieve a great result.”