Great Yarmouth Man Slapped with Community Service Over Fake HMRC Scam
Mitica Agigeanu, 39, from St Peters Road, Great Yarmouth, pleaded guilty to handling criminal property linked to a scam. The court hit him with 200 hours of community service and ordered him to cough up £4,798 in compensation to two victims.
Victims Duped by Bogus HMRC Caller
On 3 September 2020, two men, aged 37 and 45, were conned by a fake caller posing as someone from HM Revenue & Customs and the Royal Courts of Justice. The caller claimed they owed back taxes and faced arrest plus a massive £75,000 fine if they didn’t pay up.
Believing the threat, they wired £2,906 and £1,892 into a suspicious ‘HMRC’ bank account linked to Agigeanu.
Agigeanu’s Dormant Account Used for Fraud
The court heard the account was dormant from April 2019 until August 31, 2020, then briefly reactivated to handle these scam payments. Although Agigeanu might not have kept the cash himself, he knowingly handed over his unused bank details to scammers.
“Agigeanu may not have benefited financially from these scams, but he was happy to hand over the details of a bank account he no longer used, no doubt in exchange for money, for someone else to trick people out of thousands,” said PC David Moran, lead investigator.
Police Send Warning to Fraudsters
PC Moran added, “It is right he’s held accountable. This sends a clear message—we take fraud seriously and will hunt down anyone involved in stealing money from innocent people.”
