A man who was part of a £17,000 telephone scam on an Aberdeenshire pensioner has been ordered to repay his victim £10,000.
Tariq Russell, 20, helped a crime gang who were targeting the elderly and vulnerable by calling them up and then pretending to be from their bank or a financial institution.
Russell, from Motherwell, joined the group after being recruited by his barber and it was his bank account they used to funnel the stolen money into.
Upon being caught, police found only £4,000 in Russell’s account, leaving his 67-year-old victim more than £13,000 out of pocket.
A solicitor at an earlier hearing had described Russell as a lowly bit-part player in the fraud operation.
However, upon hearing the elderly victim was yet to get any of her money back, Sheriff Ian Wallace ordered that Russell repay £10,000 in compensation.
Scam targeted pensioner’s savings
Fiscal depute Victoria Kerr told the court at a previous hearing that Russell “played a role” in inducing his elderly female victim into providing her bank details from which “sums were then transferred”.
Russell’s bank account was used to transfer money from several accounts held in the pensioner’s name on April 1 2021.
“The accused was acting alongside others,” Ms Kerr said, adding that “the total amount taken was £17,750, with only £4,000 being recovered”.
Appearing in the dock, Russell pleaded guilty to one charge of fraud.
Defence solicitor Christopher Maitland told the court that Russell had “allowed his bank account to be used in this fraudulent scheme knowing it was somewhat dodgy”.
“It is still playing a part in the fraud, but he didn’t know exactly what kind of fraud was being carried out,” the solicitor said.
‘He has ended up taking the fall for it’
Mr Maitland informed that court that following the money being transferred to Russell’s account, he was then driven to various post offices where he was told to remove the ill-gotten gains in Euros.
He said that Russell – who now works as a delivery driver – would be in a position to make payments to repay his victim.
He said Russell has so far managed to save up around £1,200.
“Hopefully, this whole incident can be put down to him being young and stupid,” Mr Maitland continued.
“He was offered a chance by his barber to make a quick buck and he has ended up taking the fall for it.”
Sheriff Wallace asked the fiscal depute to confirm whether the victim had received any repayment to date and was informed that no money had thus far been repaid.
The sheriff made Russell subject to a community payback order with supervision for 24 months and ordered him to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work.
He also ordered Russell to repay his victim a total of £10,000.
For all the latest court cases in Aberdeen as well as crime and breaking incidents, join our Facebook group.