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Three brothers stole more than £600,000 after turning a rented office into a counterfeit credit card factory.
The trio were sentenced to a total of 12 years in prison after a court heard how they used false cash-machine fronts and skimming devices to steal bank details.
The information was then used to create cloned cards, which were used to withdraw money here and abroad to buy designer clothing .
Ahmed Charmaga, 25, Mahmoud Charmaga, 23, and Mohammed Charmaga, 28, all from Acton, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud yesterday at Southwark crown court. Their arrest by the Met and City Police's Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit prevented a financial loss that could have reached £2million if they had made the maximum possible number of transactions on their fake bank cards.
About 600 counterfeit credit cards were found during a search of an office block in Brent last November.
Dc Keith Harrington, from the plastic crime unit, said: "The success of this investigation was due to the sharing of information between our partner agencies. This enabled us to gain sufficient evidence to prosecute these fraudsters."
Reader views (2)
Three theives steal over half a million....and that's not enough to get 12 years EACH ?
There is absolutely no deterrent here.
- Rob, London, 15/07/2009 17:01
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Why can't the banks replace all the ATMs with machines that WONT accommodate an extra 'skimming' device and camera on the front (to watch you entering your PIN)? Seems obvious to me, it would stop these theives immediately. Maybe customers losing their wages is small fry compaired to the investment possiblities of our cash, already taken and used on the markets.
Something would already be done after years of this sort of scam, if the banks were really hurt in their pockets. As it's our cash, why can't we decide when and where it is invested?
- Rod, Epping, UK, 15/07/2009 12:02
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