A criminal gang who recruited vulnerable teenage girls to con shops with fake receipts to pay for cosmetic surgery, luxury holidays and flash cars have been prosecuted under modern slavery laws for the first time in the UK.
The crooks from London, Essex and Cambridge exploited around 30 teens and trafficked them across the country to target high street stores with dodgy refunds on reduced goods.
Once inside the shop, the girls were told to put fake barcodes on items to pay a much cheaper price before later returning and asking for a refund at the full value.
Despite the petty nature of the crimes, the fraudsters managed to scam around £500,000 over a two-year period.
Holly Olugosi - the wife of the ringleader of the gang - spent huge sums of swindled cash on cosmetic surgery, tanning sessions, a new Mercedes, luxury holidays and even a fridge costing £2,500.
Over 30 victims aged between 14 and 17 were discovered by cops when they unearthed the extent of the fraud in 2020.
Girls were recruited via social media and approached on the street, mainly from Greater London and Essex, with some living in foster homes while others had been reported missing, police said.
Isiah Olugosi, 38, orchestrated the large-scale fraud enterprise from his home in Ely, Cambridgeshire, where he lived with his wife and printed the fake receipts and barcodes used to con retailers.
It is believed the shop scams began in around 2018, but bank data showed funds from crime going into Olugosi's accounts as far back as 2013, police said.
The crooked operation was too large for one person to control alone and Olugosi quickly began to build up a network of trusted associates including ‘team leaders’ and ‘drivers’ who took part in the scams across the country.
Eva Dambrauskaite, 21, and Baran Karamagara, 22, were made team leaders who recruited and managed vulnerable young girls - typically aged 14 to 17 years old - in order to carry out theft and fraud for the organised crime gang.
Many of the victims were picked-up while living in foster homes or supported facilities and some had been reported missing by their families.
The team leaders would trick or coerce the girls into joining their criminal gang, before Olugosi and his drivers transported them across the UK using pre-planned routes to target branches of each store.
The girls would often be missing for several days, committing fraud during the day and staying in hotels at night.
In the early part of the conspiracy, Isaiah Olugosi personally drove the victims around, telling them what goods to get, which fraud technique to use and which branches to target.
But as time went on, and with Dambrauskaite and Karamagara acting as his trusted ‘drivers’, Olugosi was able to do less of the leg work, the Met said.
A typical day included theft and fraud from over 10 stores, making thousands of pounds per route for the gang.
The stolen funds were then laundered through at least one hundred UK bank accounts and Isaiah Olugosi, Karamagara and Dambrausakite which were controlled by the crooks, in many cases set-up in the names of vulnerable children or adults with mental health problems.
To evade authorities, mobile phones and vehicles were registered at addresses of adults known to have mental health problems or severe learning difficulties.
By March 2020, the group gathered about £500,000 in profits as a result of their large-scale fraud conspiracy, Scotland Yard said.
Police began investigating the gang after being tipped off by children's services and when retailers reported some of the scams.
Shop fraud investigators noticed a pattern of young girls getting refunds with false receipts.
In March 2020, police raided a string of homes in London, Essex and Cambridge and seized printers, computer equipment, fake receipts, bar codes, cash and devices used to communicate with the girls.
After searching Holly Olugosi's home, cops found she tried to hide several pieces of evidence before returning to their home where officers were still searching.
Karamagara and Dambrauskaite were arrested at addresses in Essex and Tottenham, north London, on March 16, 2020.
Isaiah Olugosi was arrested at an address in Ilford the next day and Holly Olugosi, 31, was interviewed under caution at a police station in Cambridgeshire.
When police later went to charge Isaiah Olugosi at his home he fled the cops and went on the run for six days before being caught in Bradford, West Yorkshire.
While on the lam, he had already created a new life for himself, living in a rented room under an assumed name in a bid to evade police.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) decided the gang could be charged under the Modern Slavery Act. It is believed this is the first time the act has been used in a fraud case in UK law.
After a three-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court that finished yesterday (Thurs) Dambrauskaite, of Buckhurst Hill, Essex, was found guilty of conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for exploitation, two counts of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering, possession of articles for use in fraud and possession of cannabis.
At a hearing last May, Isaiah Olugosi admitted conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for exploitation, two counts of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and possession of articles for use in fraud.
Holly Olugosi also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering at the same court.
Baran Karamagara, of Tottenham, north London, admitted conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for exploitation and two counts of conspiracy to defraud in December.
All four are due to appear at the same court for sentencing at a date yet to be set.
Sergeant PJ Jones, officer in the case from the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit, said today (Fri): “This is a serious case involving the criminal exploitation of a large number of juvenile girls spanning many years.
“Olugosi and others were too cowardly to execute their own crimes, and actively recruited girls with obvious vulnerabilities.
“They embedded themselves through peer groups of vulnerable people using them to commit fraud and using their accounts to launder money.
“This was a protracted investigation which involved countless enquiries, witness statements and searches of premises to secure evidence from offences as widely spread as Glasgow and Devon.
“Throughout the proceedings, all of the suspects in this case did everything they could to conceal evidence, minimise their own involvement and delay justice.
“I am thankful to the staff from both retailers for highlighting this case as a safeguarding concern from the outset, voicing concerns about the ages of the girls involved.
“Without the bravery of all of the victims and witnesses in this case, the enterprise would never have been unearthed and I wish to thank them all for their trust.
“The Metropolitan Police Service has officers dedicated to confront those targeting vulnerable people and continue to work closely with partners to tackle Modern Slavery and exploitation.”
Marie Olo, of the CPS said after the latest hearing that the young victims were picked out by the gang because of their troubled backgrounds.
She added: “Isaiah Olugosi recruited, coached and transported teenage girls around the country to commit refund fraud in high street stores.
“The girls were selected because they were vulnerable with difficult backgrounds or mental health problems, and when they were caught, he was perfectly willing to step back and let them face arrest and potential prosecution.
“When he learned the police had discovered his involvement he tried desperately but unsuccessfully to destroy evidence and hide money.
“Exploiting others for criminal gain is a serious criminal offence and wherever possible the CPS will work with police to help victims escape the clutches of modern slavery, while prosecuting the people who have pulled the strings.”
