Bank Cashier Blackmailer Binned For Two Years

A sinister blackmailer, who tried to intimidate a female bank cashier into paying him £15,000 by threatening to report her to the police for stealing from her employer, has been jailed for two years.

Initially posing as a detective and then a bank supervisor 23 year-old Iqbal Miah, of Hamlet Road, Southend-on-Sea called the woman's personal mobile phone while she was working at a branch of Santander.

The jobless father-of-two, who lives on benefits, was found guilty at Harrow Crown Court of blackmailing Melinna Yanni at the Kilburn High Road, Kilburn branch on September 24, last year.

“You made two calls from your mobile phone to her personal mobile phone, posing first as a police officer and then a branch area manager,” Recorder E Cohen told Miah on Friday.

“You told her to co-operate or: 'Your boys would be involved' and that she: 'would go to prison for two years.'

“Your victim was very frightened, she's lost weight and is still seeing a therapist.

“You now say it was a prank, but that is not the impression you gave to your victim and her manager. You had some personal knowledge of her circumstances and blackmail is a nasty offence.”

Prosecutor Mr. David Ryan told the jury the blackmail calls were traced by police to Miah's phone and had been made near his address at the time in nearby Mortimer Crescent.

“Two days before the demand for money Miss Yanni received a call from an unknown number and the caller spoke with an Asian or African accent saying he was a police officer from Holborn Police Station.

“He asked her if she worked in the Kilburn branch of Santander and still lived in Elephant and Castle.

“Two days later, just before 9am, she received another call from this unknown number claiming to be from the bank's regional manager, accusing her and a colleague of stealing fifteen thousand pounds.

“The caller said this is how they were able to buy two new Audi cars,” explained Mr. Ryan. “He was aware Miss Yanni did not have money, but was now in credit.

“She said her mother had transferred twenty thousand pounds into her account in August.”

The mystery caller became angry and the call ended, but later in the day the employee received another call.

“There was a demand that Miss Yanni give him fifteen thousand pounds within forty-eight hours or he would report her to the police and she could go to jail for a couple of years.

“She handed the phone to her manager, who told the caller to contact the fraud team and stop harassing Miss Yanni.”

Miah was arrested in November and replied “no comment” to all police questions.