A gang who went on a £1 million spending spree in the West End during a credit card scam have been jailed.
Marcus Carter, 38, and his co-accused splashed out on Rolex and Cartier watches and kitted themselves out in Burberry, Gucci and Prada.
They browsed for luxury goods on mobile phones and tablet devices worth £126,000 and dined at restaurants such as Gaucho and the Dorchester Hotel.
Carter along with Jeffrey Spencer, 35, and Frank Allan, 33, used details of old companies to secure huge lines of credit, then maxed out their American Express and Barclays cards.
Carter convinced ex-lovers Yaa Abrefa, 37, and Abena Frempong, 34, to allow their bank accounts to be used to process the fraudulent transactions. Frempong used the cards to buy high-end items which were exported to Ghana.
Between 2014 and 2016 Carter, Spencer and Allan posed as directors of lucrative companies to convince credit card chiefs they were doing business with big-time players.
They then supplied phoney accounts to Companies House to make it look like they were successful traders, Southwark crown court heard last Friday.
Staff at American Express eventually became suspicious and contacted the City of London Police’s Fraud Squad. Addison Lee taxi journeys led to their identification.
Carter, also known as Marcus Boahene-Coabbina, was sentenced to seven years and two months after admitting conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
Spencer, aka Victor Templar-Quarshie, of South Norwood, and Allan, aka Frank Templar-Quarshie, also of South Norwood, were found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, conspiracy to acquire criminal property and failing to disclose the PIN to their phones.
They were jailed for nine years and seven years and nine months respectively. All were disqualified from being a company director. Abrefa, of Thornton Heath, and Frempong, of Petts Wood, were convicted of conspiracy to acquire criminal property.
They were given suspended 18-month and 12-month prison sentences and ordered to carry out unpaid work.
The prosecution is seeking Proceeds of Crime Act orders to remove any financial benefit the gang gained during the fraud.
