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Mastermind behind online fraud shop iSpoof which was brought down in UK’s biggest fraud sting is jailed for 13 years
The mastermind behind an online fraud shop used to con victims out of more than £100 million has been jailed for more than 13 years.
Tejay Fletcher, 35, was the founder and leading administrator of the iSpoof.cc website, which allowed criminals to disguise phone numbers, before it was brought down last year in the UK’s biggest fraud sting.
Southwark Crown Court heard that victims across the world were defrauded of at least £100 million, including a minimum of £43 million from people in the UK.
The site offered scammers the tools to disguise phone calls to appear to be from a trusted organisation such as a bank, so they could empty their targets’ accounts.
The website earned around £3.2 million in cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with the ‘lion’s share’ of around £2 million ending up with Fletcher, said prosecutor John Ojakovoh.
Tejay Fletcher, 35, who founded the iSpoof website which was brought down in the UK’s biggest fraud sting, has been jailed for 13 years
Users of the website paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a month for its features, which were marketed on a channel on the encrypted messaging app Telegram called ‘iSpoof club’.
Fletcher last month pleaded guilty to four charges, including making or supplying an article for use in fraud, encouraging or assisting the commission of an offence, possession of criminal property and transferring criminal property, between November 30 2020 and November 8 2022.
Judge Sally Cahill KC jailed him for a total of 13 years and four months on Friday, telling Fletcher: ‘For all the victims it was a harrowing experience.’
Fletcher heard he rented an east London apartment, which boasts views of the Royal Victoria Dock and the City skyline, and owned a £230,000 Lamborghini.
Fletcher also spent £120,000 on two Range Rovers for him and his girlfriend, while police found a money counter, jewellery and an £11,000 Rolex in his home.
This is a breaking news story and is being updated.
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