UK Gang Jailed After Fake Police Crypto Scam Steals $5.4M

Three men have been jailed in the UK after using fake police websites and fraudulent security calls to steal more than £4 million, or about $5.4 million, in cryptocurrency from eight victims.

Anthony Ikenwe, Hamza Bashir and Kevin Nwamma contacted victims while posing as police officers. They claimed the victims’ crypto holdings were at risk and instructed them to provide account access or transfer funds into wallets presented as secure police accounts.

The fake police operation moved the assets immediately through a laundering network spanning crypto wallets, bank accounts, payment cards and several jurisdictions. Investigators connected the cases through shared aliases, phone numbers, domains, wallet addresses and spending records.

The fraud relied on authority and urgency rather than a blockchain or wallet vulnerability. A similar impersonation model recently led to guilty pleas in a $13 million crypto theft case, where callers posed as Google and Trezor support representatives to obtain account and wallet access.

Defendants Receive Prison Sentences

Southwark Crown Court sentenced Ikenwe, 29, to six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering, with the terms running concurrently. Nwamma, 25, received the same concurrent sentences.

Bashir, 23, was sentenced to three years and nine months for conspiracy to commit fraud and three years for money laundering, also running concurrently. He changed his plea to guilty during the eighth day of his trial after initially denying involvement.

Ikenwe and Nwamma pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to defraud and money-laundering offenses, including four counts of converting criminal property. All three had remained in custody since coordinated arrests across London and Essex in November 2025.

Police seized 40 mobile phones, other digital devices, luxury goods and crypto assets during searches at seven properties.

Blockchain Records Expose Luxury Spending

Investigators recovered approximately £1 million directly connected to victim funds. More than £1 million in cryptocurrency was linked to wallets controlled by Ikenwe, while transfers from stolen-asset wallets reached bank accounts associated with Nwamma’s chauffeur and transport business.

The group used the proceeds to buy a car worth almost £60,000, Rolex watches and designer goods from Harrods, Hermès and Louis Vuitton. Investigators also identified about £500,000 in cash held in a Dubai safety deposit box and holidays across Thailand, Japan, Paris, Mykonos, the Maldives and the Seychelles.

Blockchain transactions, exchange records, financial data and device communications supported the convictions. UK authorities have used similar tracing methods in other cases, including an investigation where Coinbase forensics helped police secure five convictions connected to kidnapping, robbery and crypto money laundering.

The Metropolitan Police is continuing to identify other people connected to the conspiracy and pursue additional assets for victim recovery.

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