TWO MEN have been jailed following a four-year investigation into courier fraud.

Danny Ngo, aged 28, and Dervill Rickman, aged 27, both of London, were sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Friday, May 31, after admitting conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

Ngo was jailed for four years and Rickman was sentenced to 32 months in prison.

The charge related to a series of courier fraud offences committed between Thursday, April 21, 2020 and Friday,  June 5, 2020, involving 11 victims.

The offenders phoned victims on their landline, saying they had an issue with connectivity and were due compensation.

The victims, all elderly and vulnerable, were then asked to download an app that would allow the defendants remote access to their home computers.

The defendants then tricked the elderly and vulnerable victims into thinking they had paid too much compensation and persuaded them to attend their banks to withdraw cash which was either collected by a courier or posted to an address.

Dorset Police were first alerted to the fraudulent activity after enquiries revealed three victims in Dorset had paid a total of more than £18,000 to the offenders.

Other victims of the courier fraud were identified in the Devon and Cornwall area, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, Bedfordshire and Nottinghamshire.

The total loss to all victims involved was more than £67,000.

Following enquiries, multiple warrants were executed at properties in London which subsequently led to the arrest of Ngo and Rickman.

Detective Constable Tom Norman, of BCP CID, said: “These defendants were involved in a significant conspiracy to defraud elderly and vulnerable victims in various areas around the country.

“We have led this extensive investigation to compile evidence of their offending and ultimately hold them accountable for their actions.

“We will continue to do all we can to protect vulnerable victims from fraudsters and will take robust action against those committing offences.”

A third defendant, Raquel Viamonte, 24 from London will appear at Bournemouth Crown Court on July 12.