Three men in the UK have been sentenced to prison for defrauding victims of more than £4 million ($5.4 million) in cryptocurrency by impersonating police officers and directing them to fake websites, the Metropolitan Police said Thursday.
According to a statement from the Met Police, the gang lured eight victims into visiting convincing fake police websites, where they stole the victims' crypto holdings. The stolen funds were then laundered through a complex financial network.
Investigators launched the probe in January 2025 after victims reported the fraud, using blockchain transactions, communications, financial records, and cryptocurrency exchange records to identify the group.
"This was a highly complex investigation into a group of calculated manipulators who exploited victims' trust by pretending to be police officers and spent other people’s money to fund their extravagant lifestyles," Detective Inspector Geoff Donoghue said in the statement.
The three men were sentenced Thursday at Southwark Crown Court. Anthony Ikenwe, 29, received six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering. Hamza Bashir, 23, was sentenced to three years and nine months for conspiracy to commit fraud and three years for money laundering. Kevin Nwamma, 25, received six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering.
