Ten charged in UK crypto scam that drained £300,000 from a victim

Ten suspects showed up at Margate Magistrates’ Court on April 30 after police raids across Kent, Essex, and London took down an alleged crypto fraud ring. The group impersonated police officers and cryptocurrency firms to trick people into handing over their wallet logins.

The Eastern Region Special Operations Unit (ERSOU) led the investigation. Officers executed search warrants simultaneously at 6am on April 29 at addresses in Chelmsford, Enfield, South London, and Wakefield.

Teams from Kent Police, the City of London Police, the Metropolitan Police, and the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit helped carry out the operation.

Scammers posed as cops to steal seed phrases

Prosecutors say the group ran a phone scam targeting crypto holders. Callers pretended to be police officers or reps from crypto companies. They convinced victims to share their seed phrases, the master passwords that unlock crypto wallets.

Once the phrases were handed over, the funds vanished. At least one person lost £300,000 according local media outlets. All ten suspects were charged with conspiracy to defraud and brought before magistrates within 24 hours of arrest.

Brandon Mingeli, 25, and Jami Durston-McDonnel, 28, both of Chelmsford, plus Louis Richards-Miller, 24, of Greenwich, were remanded in custody. Their next hearing is set for May 28 at Chelmsford Crown Court. Seven others got bail to attend the same crown court date.

UK crypto theft cases pile up

This case is the latest in a series of major crypto thefts across England.

Last November, Thames Valley Police arrested four men, including a 23-year-old from Kent, after masked attackers forced a victim in Oxford to transfer ~$1.5 million in crypto while also stealing a watch worth about $590,000.

Earlier this year, three teenagers who dressed up as Amazon delivery drivers to steal £3.1 million in crypto from an East London property were sentenced to a combined 16 years in youth detention at Sheffield Crown Court. Police traced and returned the stolen funds within two weeks, according to Cryptopolitan.

ERSOU issued a clear warning alongside the charges. Police will never ask about a person’s crypto holdings or wallets. No company or government office will request a crypto wallet seed phrase or price keys from anybody.

The unit told crypto holders to avoid clicking links in unsolicited emails and to never enter a seed phrase anywhere except directly on a hardware wallet during setup or recovery. Crypto holders should independently verify any call claiming to come from law enforcement by dialing 101.

All ten defendants face their next hearing on May 28 at Chelmsford Crown Court. The outcome could show how hard UK prosecutors will go after organized crypto fraud rings that use social engineering instead of technical hacks to drain wallets.