Scammers stole £700k from 'golden years' victims

Arvin Begolli was sentenced at Newcastle Crown Court

A money launderer who was part of fraud gang, which stole more than £700,000 from vulnerable victims around the world, has been spared jail after he gave evidence against his associates.

Arvin Begolli, 34, and his gang targeted elderly people in their "golden years" in Canada and Australia, and got them to send money and valuables to the UK, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Victims said they had their life-savings stolen and now endured a "miserable" existence.

Begolli, from Newcastle, admitted money laundering. He was jailed for 21 months, suspended for 18 months, with 250 hours unpaid work.

Scammers contacted the victims and told them their bank accounts had been infiltrated from within so they should send money, gold and valuables to detectives in the UK to investigate, Judge Tim Gittins said.

Between April 2018 and 2019, Begolli recruited students in the Newcastle area to use their addresses for the victims to send their packages to, prosecutor Angus MacDonald said.

He would then collect the parcels and deliver them to his criminal associates in London in exchange for payment, the court heard.

'Biggest mistake of life'

A housemate of Begolli's who had been recruited to help collect the parcels was also arrested but fled the country before he could be charged, Mr MacDonald said.

Begolli was "caught red-handed" picking up a package from a student contact, the court heard.

In total, the gang stole money and goods worth £713,545, Mr MacDonald said.

In statements, six victims said their lives had been devastated by the scam.

One woman, who was 98, said it was the "worst experience of [her] life" and she no longer trusted anyone.

Another woman said she had just lost her husband and was going through chemotherapy when she was targeted, while a third said she had been defrauded of her life savings and could be forced into bankruptcy.

Another victim said her life had changed "dramatically" as she could no longer afford to do the activities she had enjoyed, such as playing golf, and had to sell her jewellery to cover "basic living costs".

She said answering the phone to the scammers had been the "biggest mistake" of her life, adding: "It is a miserable way to live."

'Acted as postmaster'

Begolli, of Clara Street in Benwell, admitted his involvement in 2023 but had to await sentencing while trials were held for three of his co-accused, the court heard.

He gave evidence against the men and they were subsequently jailed, one for 18 months, another for five years and nine months, and the third for six years, Mr MacDonald said.

The prosecutor said Begolli's evidence had been "fundamental" in one trial and "significant" in the others, warranting a reduction in his own sentence.

Judge Gittins said Begolli had acted as a "postmaster" for the gang and played a "crucial role" in the fraud by "providing distance" between the addresses the valuables were sent to and the scammers.

The judge said the "sophisticated" scam had caused "complete devastation" for the victims.

But Begolli, who the court heard had moved to the UK as a "deeply" traumatised child from "war-torn" Kosovo, had gone on to provide "substantial" evidence against his fellow scammers for which he would receive a 50% reduction to his sentence, the judge said.

Judge Gittins said Begolli's behaviour had been "shameful" and had he been sentenced closer to the time he would have been jailed immediately.

But due to the offending being six and a half years ago, in which time Begolli had tackled drug addiction and not committed any further offences, and his assistance to the prosecution, the judge said the jail term could be suspended.