Basingstoke man jailed after using deepfake technology to launder money
The men from Basingstoke and Norfolk targeted vulnerable victims online
Last updated 11 hours ago
Two men have been sentenced for their roles in fraud and money laundering offenses, which involved the use of deepfake technology to deceive victims.
Henry Nimo, a 38-year-old from Basingstoke, and James Ashong, a 40-year-old from Kings Lynn, Norfolk, each received 27-month jail sentences for their involvement in a complex scam tied to overseas romance fraudsters.
The pair were found guilty after an extensive investigation by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Economic Crime Unit revealed their connection to various international suspects.
The fraud targeted vulnerable victims online, often developing into romantic relationships over time, only to manipulate them into sending large sums of money under false pretenses.
In one instance, a victim was approached on Instagram by perpetrators posing as a Danish entrepreneur, later becoming a target of deepfake technology.
This allowed the offenders to make phone calls in voices matching images sent to the victim, increasing the level of deception.
Nimo and Ashong were found to have participated in laundering the proceeds through UK banks, before transferring the funds to contacts based in Ghana.
Nimo established a business, Henza Ltd, which served no legitimate purpose and was utilized to funnel proceeds from criminal activities, including fake invoices.
Bank accounts linked to Henza Ltd laundered over £120,000 from romance fraud victims between 2020 and 2021.
Additional money laundering attempts involved multiple accounts, including Ashong's bank account, exceeding amounts of £30,000.
Ashong further spent the laundered money on high-value goods and confirmed transactions totaling over £77,000 were sent overseas.
In addition to the romance fraud, Nimo engaged with an overseas forger to create false Covid-19 certificates from Anglia DNA, posing risks to public health by facilitating fraudulent travel.
According to Police Staff Investigator Dan Culling, romance fraud involves sophisticated methods and technologies like AI and deepfakes, making detection difficult:
"Police Staff Investigator Dan Culling said, “As with many types of fraud, romance fraud is often an incredibly complex crime to investigate, and this is a really important result in our work to target offenders.
“The perpetrators of these types of crimes will use many clever methods to deceive their victims and cover their tracks, and this is becoming increasingly difficult for potential victims to detect due to the progression of AI, deepfakes and voice changing applications, which are easily accessible to the offenders.
“It cannot be emphasised enough how important it is to stay vigilant when talking to people online. These offenders are sophisticated criminals who will use all the tools in their arsenal in order to gain your trust and get you to part from your money.
“Ashong and Nimo, through their connection to a variety of scams and fraudulent activities, have knowingly cheated people out of hundreds of thousands of pounds and deserve to face justice for their crimes.
“Fraud can have a devastating impact on the victim, both financial and personal, and can destroy lives