Man jailed for five years after opening more than 1,000 fraudulent betting accounts

A man who borrowed the identities of other people to open fraudulent online betting accounts has been jailed for five years.

Jon Howard, 40, was convicted on two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud against bet365 and Santander bank, but was cleared of money laundering when a four-week trial concluded in March.

Reacting to his subsequent sentencing at Basildon Crown Court, police described the investigation to unpick Howard's criminal activities as "lengthy and complex".

Howard maintained his innocence but the court heard how his activity dated back to 2008 and that he had opened more than 1,000 accounts in the names of others by the time his house was searched by police in February 2019. 

The prosecution laid out details of how people willingly gave Howard access to their details which he then used to impersonate them in opening accounts with bet365, availing himself of new customer bonuses. Following an investigation led by Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, the prosecution alleged that he had profited to the tune of £236,000. 

"Betting online in someone else’s name is against the terms of use," said detective sergeant Mike Monkton. “The whole enterprise was dishonest and designed to deceive the gambling company.

“When we were notified in 2018, we embarked upon a lengthy and complex investigation that took some time to unravel. When we executed a warrant at Jon Howard’s address in February 2019, it was obvious that this was set up to look like any other legal business.

"Hours were spent trawling through paperwork in different names, receipts for luxury items, bank books and 177 sim cards that were seized from the address. Substantial sums of money were involved.”

Co-defendant Daniel Gorman was also cleared of money laundering but was jailed for 16 months with 12 months suspended for conspiracy to commit fraud.

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