A man from Eccles has been jailed after scamming his vulnerable elderly neighbour out of more than £100,000.
It comes after an extensive investigation by detectives in Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Economic Crime Unit, which was launched after a reported to police that it believed ‘suspicious activity’ was taking place in a 76-year-old man’s bank account.
It was quickly established that the victim was a neighbour of Lee Hodson and his girlfriend Jennifer Picken in Eccles.
Hodson was able to dupe and deceive his way into being named on the victim’s financial accounts by creating online access while posing as the victim, which he did by stealing confidential post, personal paperwork, and the victim’s private information – such as date of birth, phone numbers, previous addresses, occupations, and his National Insurance number, all in order to pass online security checks.
Hodson successfully impersonated the victim and proceeded to set up online accounts using his own contact details, and also used his girlfriend’s bank account to launder the money.
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That’s not all either, as Hodson also sadly updated the victim’s pensions and state benefits so that they would be paid directly into his own account without flagging bank security.
#JAILED | An investigation led by our Economic Crime Unit was launched after a bank reported to police they believed suspicious activity was taking place in a 76-year-old man’s bank account.
The victim’s bank finally contacted the police after a total of was £230,742.39 was withdrawn from the victim’s account to Picken’s bank account in June 2021 – with the money then being withdrawn, spent, and dispersed across multiple accounts and family members.
After police obtained enough evidence, Hodson was charged with multiple offences including fraud, burglary, escape from lawful custody, assault with intent to resist arrest, and money laundering, while Picken was also charged with fraud and money laundering offences.
Hodson was sentenced to five years and four months imprisonment after he pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering, escaping lawful custody, impersonating a police officer, and burglary offences.
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Picken was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 150 hours of community service.
Speaking following the sentencing, Detective Inspector Tim Flint, who leads a team of fraud detectives in GMP’s Economic Crime Team, said: “We were investigating a well-planned fraud which ultimately targeted an elderly gentleman out of £100,000.
“It was heartless and they preyed on him because of his age.
“Their despicable actions have had a devastating impact on the victim who has now sadly passed away and now his surviving relatives have had to endure a trial.”
Featured Image – GMP
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Tesco is trialling giving away expired food to shoppers for FREE at the end of the day
Tesco has begun trialling giving away food that’s close to expiring away to shoppers for free at the end of the day.
You’ve heard of reduced-price food, but now Tesco is taking things one step further.
Food waste continues to be a growing problem, with the latest Government statistics revealing that the UK throws away approximately 9.52 million tonnes of food every year, which is why Tesco has decided to begin a trail at selected Express stores nationwide where it gives away some already-discounted ‘yellow sticker’ items for free after 9:30pm, reports The Telegraph.
Tesco is one of the UK’s major supermarket chains with a partnership to send surplus food to food poverty charities and foodbanks.
Although the chain is already donating its expired food, bosses say they are taking this next step to try to meet its goal to halve food waste by the end of this year.
Tesco is trialling giving away expired food for free to shoppers at the end of the day / Credit: The Manc Group
During this new trial – which is currently underway at selected stores across the UK – the company said the expiring food would be offered to charities and shop workers first, before customers could take it home for free.
Usually the items would be marketed at a cut-off of a 90% reduction, but under the new system – which is the first of its kind in the UK – food will be free of charge.
“We are constantly looking for innovative new ways to reduce food waste,” a Tesco spokesperson commented on the trail.
“In all our stores we offer unsold surplus food to charities and community groups, donating millions of meals each month.
“This trial, in a small number of our Express stores, will allow customers to take any remaining yellow stickered items for free at the end of the day, after they have first been offered to charities and colleagues.”
Featured Image – The Manc Group
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Flash sale launches with two-for-one tickets to some of Manchester’s biggest gigs
Two upcoming Manchester gigs are having a flash sale where you can get your hands on some very limited 2 for 1 tickets.
The two biggest arenas in Manchester are hosting exclusive discounts on two of the biggest upcoming Manchester gigs.
If you’re after tickets to Co-op Live’s offering you’ll have to act fast as they have a legend in attendance, quite literally, as John Legend is set to take to the stage on Thursday 29 May.
It’s a very special gig for the singer-songwriter as he celebrates 20 years of ‘Get Lifted’ where Mr. Legend will be playing tracks from his debut album like ‘Ordinary People’, sprinkling in more hits too.
AO Arena are also running a limited 2 for 1 ticket discount and we’re certain it’s about to get ‘Hot In Herre’ as St. Louis MC Nelly brings his UK tour to this very stage along with a troupe of famous stars.
Anyone interested in finding ‘Where The Party At’ doesn’t have to look much further than Saturday 7 June when Nelly brings his tour to Manchester with Eve, St. Lunatics, Jermaine Dupri and Fabolous.
Co-op Live is running a limited 2 for 1 offer on John Legend tickets.AO Arena have a 2 for 1 flash sale on tickets to see Nelly and special guests.Credit:Publicity Picture (via Supplied) / Flickr
‘Let Me Blow Ya Mind’ because these tickets are too good to pass on especially when you get the opportunity to see all these rap legends under the same roof for less than three figures at £90.
And we’re giving you the ‘Green Light’ about John Legend and his upcoming ‘Get Lifted – 20th Anniversary Tour’ when we say these 2 for 1 tickets total at £70, It’s ‘Written In The Stars’.
Anyone after 2 for 1 tickets for John Legend and his upcoming ‘Get Lifted – 20th Anniversary Tour’ can find this exclusive running until 28 May HERE.
And there’s no ‘Dilemma’ in sight as you can get 2 for 1 tickets to see Nelly and his music crew on their ‘Where The Party At’ tour HERE.