Four people at the centre of a multimillion-pound cryptocurrency fraud have been jailed.
They were involved in a conspiracy to dishonestly obtain Bitcoin worth £21m between October 2017 and January 2018.
Stephen Boys, Kelly Caton, Jordan Robinson and James Austin-Beddoes were convicted of a number of fraud offences.
Boys, Caton and Robinson were jailed at Preston Crown Court, while Austin-Beddoes received a suspended sentence.
The group worked with ringleader James Parker, who died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted for masterminding the conspiracy from his Blackpool home.
The court heard he exploited a loophole to withdraw dishonestly-obtained crypto assets worth £15m from his trading account on an Australian-based cryptocurrency exchange.
Parker's associates Caton and Robinson dishonestly withdrew £2.7m and £1.7m respectively from their accounts.
Parker's financial adviser Boys worked with a UK national based in the United Arab Emirates to convert the cryptocurrency into cash.
The money was then laundered through various foreign-based online accounts.
Prosecutor Jonathan Kelleher said the group "used the internet from the comfort of their own homes to obtain tens of millions of pounds worth of Bitcoin which did not belong to them".
Boys, 59, from Accrington, was found guilty of converting and transferring criminal property and jailed for six years, while Caton, 45, from Blackpool, and Robinson, 24, from Fleetwood, both received sentences of four years six months in prison after being convicted of fraud, converting and acquiring criminal property.
Austin-Beddoes, 28, from St Annes, was found guilty of fraud and acquiring criminal property and pleaded guilty to converting criminal property earlier and was jailed for 18 months, suspended for a year.
Speaking after sentencing, the Crown Prosecution Service said a "very significant amount of the laundered assets" had since been retrieved, while further amounts were being recovered on the behalf of the Australian cryptocurrency exchange.
Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to northwest.newsonline@bbc.co.uk
Bitcoin to blockchain: What key crypto words mean
After the FTX chaos, is crypto down and out?
What's happening to Bitcoin?
HM Courts & Tribunals Service
25 drivers clocked going over speed limit on Ribble Valley road
Preston couple who helped each other through cancer use ruby anniversary to raise £4k for Rosemere
Preston woman arrested after person spotted breaking into camper van
Police and Trading Standards seize counterfeit goods in Burnley
Kirkham woman caught three times over drink-drive limit after police notice her driving ‘erratically’
Blackpool motorist who thought five-hour gap after last alcoholic drink would leave him fit to drive banned
What the new tanks could mean for Ukraine
Trump to be allowed back on Facebook and Instagram
Director speaks out on misogyny after Oscars snub
Buying concert tickets can be hell. Here's how to fix it
Britain, Spain, Singapore? Gibraltar mulls its future
Why young Aussies are shunning their national holiday
Subscription-based bike hire schemes on a roll
What difference will the tanks for Ukraine make?
Could UK be drawn into a green trade war with US?
Can these rocks really power light bulbs?
A simple guide to the US classified documents saga
The simple error that 16% of us make
Gen Z's latest surprising obsession
A return to old-school Canadian glamour
© 2023 BBC. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking.
source
