Wanted credit card fraudster sentenced to 27 months

28 February 2011

A credit card fraudster who pleaded guilty and then absconded has been sentenced to 27 months.

Tayo Sofola and Opeyemi Osoba, from Erith in Kent, used stolen credit card details bought online from Vietnam employing false identities in an effort to avoid detection. They also sold on stolen credit card details for use by other fraudsters and provided a verification service for criminals to check that stolen card details were still valid. The cost of their fraud has been reported by the banking industry to be in excess of £130,000.

Tayo Sofola, who absconded after entering a guilty plea, was sentenced to 27 months for conspiracy to defraud and possession of false identity documents. Opeyemi Osoba was found guilty of conspiracy to defraud and sentenced to 15 months.

Anyone with information on the location of Tayo Sofola can contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or via the website www.crimestoppers-uk.org