A man who became a ‘money mule’ for an online fraudster was jailed for money laundering.
Jozef Gasparovic, 39, was living in Liverpoo l when in 2018 his bank account received in excess of £57,000 from a cyber-dependent fraud.
The victim was a company based in Staffordshire which suffered an email compromise whereby a suspect had hacked their email system.
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The hacker then sends an email to a customer as if sent by a legitimate member of the company requesting payment for an outstanding invoice, but to a new bank account – the account of the money mule.
Gasparovic moved to the Dorset area prior to his arrest.
He pleaded guilty to one charge of money laundering and today was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for 12 months and 40 hours community service during a hearing at Liverpool Crown Court.
Detective Constable Tony Madden, a cybercrime investigator for Merseyside Police said: “We take a robust stance against those people choosing to allow their bank accounts to be used by fraudsters and I am pleased to see that Gasparovic has been put before the courts as a result of his actions.
"These are not victimless crimes. Businesses that are fraudulently targeted in such a way can suffer huge financial losses.
"I hope that this case will deter anyone from allowing their own bank accounts to be used in such a way."
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