Lancaster student who scammed university applicants jailed
He's been sentenced to over four years in prison
A man from Bradford has been sentenced to four and a half years in prison for scamming Lancaster university applicants out of thousands of pounds.
Sibtain Hussain, 32, targeted international students applying to UK universities, demanding cash for proof of ‘financial capability’, ‘student services’, and ‘accommodation deposits’.
Using stolen applicant data from Lancaster University, Hussain contacted over 200 individuals with fraudulent demands, seeking payments up to £3,200.
Over £48,000 was sent by 23 students.
A large majority of the payments were blocked by banks, however.
The fraud had the potential to generate more than £493,000 in illegal profits.
Lancaster University discovered the breach in July 2019 and alerted the National Crime Agency.
Officers connected Hussain to multiple fraudulent accounts.
Hussain pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court in October 2025, after initially denying the offence.
He was sentenced today, 9th January 2026, to four and a half years for fraud and an additional year for money laundering to run concurrently.