Fraudster conned elderly Yorkshire victims out of life-savings to buy £450,000 of gold bullion

Ashley Marlon Thompson, 26, called the victims claiming to be from the police and told them their accounts were compromised.

The victims - based in North Yorkshire - were advised to go to the bank, withdraw all their money in cash, and purchase gold bullion with the amount.

The two separate victims were then scammed out of their entire savings after the gold bars were collected by someone to for 'safekeeping'.

Thompson, of London, was arrested after being picked up by cops who struck gold after being tipped off that tried to sell one of the bars off to a pawnbroker.

He said in police interviews that he hired a lock-up storage facility where he found the gold bar in a bag of tools but had no idea who owned it.

He claimed that he'd waited to see if anyone claimed it but when no one did, so tried to pawn it for cash.

But investigation officers found that he forged documents to prove the lock-up facility existed, when in reality it did not.

Detective Constable Neil Brodhurst from North Yorkshire Police said the victims were 'devastated' by the scam.

He said: “Throughout the trial Thompson denied any knowledge of the gold bar’s origin, sticking to his story that he had simply found it in a bag of tools. He also couldn’t explain why he’d gone to the lengths of faking a hire contract for a non-existent lock-up facility to show the pawnbroker.

“The two victims of this courier fraud were absolutely devastated by it. They were groomed over a period of several months with their trust and good nature callously exploited to the extent that they lost their entire life savings to someone claiming to be a police officer.

“We unfortunately see courier fraud targeting North Yorkshire residents time and time again and I’d like to take this opportunity to issue another warning about it. The fraudsters use incredibly calculated and manipulative tactics to convince their victims that they are legitimate police officers or bank officials and will keep going until they get what they want.

“Remember, the police or your bank will NEVER contact you and ask you to move or transfer money and will definitely never ask you to purchase high value items or to hand over your bank cards. Please be on your guard and share this warning with your friends, family and networks.

“This type of crime is the highest priority for North Yorkshire Police and I hope that Thompson’s sentence sends a powerful message to criminals that we will pursue you wherever you are.

“We’re very grateful to the pawnbrokers and gold dealers who alerted us to the criminal activity and gave us the opportunity to act, as well as to our colleagues at the City of London Police for their support in arresting Thompson.

“This investigation is the culmination of more than a year’s hard work and dedication from the team in our Economic Crime Unit and I hope Thompson’s sentence will serve as some closure for our victims.”

Thompson plead guilty to one count of fraud by false representation and was found guilty of money laundering. He received a 15 month prison sentence for money laundering and a concurrent 6 month sentence for fraud by false representation.