UK Sends a Gang of Four for Blackpool £21m Cryptocurrency Fraud

A gang of Four people for Blackpool have been jailed for £21m cryptocurrency fraud between October 2017 and January 2018 the UK government jailed them. Between October 2017 and January 2018, they were involved in a scheme to obtain currency worth £21 million fraudulently. At Preston Crown Court, three men and one woman, aged 24-54, were convicted of fraud and transferring criminal property. 15 years in prison have been sentenced to them.

The ringleader, James Parker, died in 2021 before he could be charged with masterminding the conspiracy from his Blackpool home. He used a loophole to withdraw dishonestly obtained crypto assets worth £15 million from his trading account on an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange, according to the court.

Parker's associates Kelly Caton and Jordan Robinson fraudulently withdrew £2.7 million and £1.7 million from their accounts, respectively. Parker's financial adviser, Stephen Boys, collaborated with a UK national based in the UAE to convert the cryptocurrency into cash. The funds were then laundered through several foreign-based online accounts.

"A very significant amount of the laundered assets have been returned or are in the process of being recovered on behalf of the Australian cryptocurrency exchange," a Crown Prosecution Service spokesman said. "These offenders used the internet from the comfort of their own homes to obtain tens of millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin that did not belong to them," prosecutor Jonathan Kelleher added.

Stephen Boys, 59, of Accrington, was convicted of converting and transferring criminal property and sentenced to six years in prison. Kelly Caton, 45, of Blackpool, was found guilty of fraud, converting, and acquiring criminal property and sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

Jordan Robinson, 24, of Fleetwood, was convicted of fraud, converting, and acquiring criminal property and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. James Austin-Beddoes, 28, of St Annes, was convicted of fraud and obtaining criminal property. He previously pleaded guilty to converting criminal property and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, suspended for a year.