Businessman Jailed After Proceeds of £421K University Scam Are Paid Into His Account

The University of Manchester were successfully duped into paying £421,000 to scammers, who hijacked the identity of a technical supplies company and diverted payments for electron microscopes into a bank account under their control.

Businessman Kevin White, 47, a specialist graphic and website designer, was sentenced to eighteen months imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court today for receiving the money into his account.

Four separate payments were made by the university and the fraud was only exposed when their suppliers, FEI UK Ltd, submitted invoices demanding their money.

White, of Park Heights, Constitution Hill, Woking, Surrey pleaded guilty to dishonestly obtaining credits of £279,826; £81,950; £59,529 and £482 between March 9, 2012 and February 23, last year.

Prosecutor Miss Shekinah Anson told the court: "An email was sent to the finance department of the University of Manchester purporting to be from one of their suppliers with a change of bank details.

"It was on headed paper, signed by the company's finance manger and the name of the manager was correct so the bank account details for the supplier were changed on the university's computerised finance system.

"This resulted in all future payments being paid to the new account details."

A total of £421,789.20p was paid into White's account for the scanning electron microscopes and £85,556.12p was withdrawn before a civil injunction froze the account.

The police were informed and an investigation revealed the account was for the defendant's Croydon-based company and he was the sole director and only signatory for the account, which had been overdrawn before the scam.

"After it had been credited Mr. White began to make payments to various named people, including the mother of his children, plus bills and loans and to restaurants and nights out," added Miss Anson.

When arrested in October, last year the defendant told police he kept a 20% commission for allowing the true fraudster to utilise his bank account.

Mr. Thomas Dauvergne-Cleve, defending, told the court: "He had no idea how his bank details were to be used. He was approached by someone he knew for eighteen months, a local businessman."

White was expecting the first transfer of £59,529, but the subsequent payments sat in his account untouched for several weeks before the civil injunction, the court heard.

"One would normally expect a transaction of sixty thousand to be noticed, but three more followed," said Mr. Dauvergne-Cleve. 

"By this time he had the creeping realisation this was something illegal.

"He regrets this entirely and he is very, very sorry. He's very sorry about the loss to the University of Manchester."

A hearing under Proceeds of Crime Act legislation was scheduled for August 22 when the prosecution will attempt to recoup the missing money.