City Worker Jailed For "Ludicrous" Fraud

A City worker, who processed fake invoices totalling £668,000 during a two-month scam on his employer, has been jailed.

Shazeb Iqbal, 23, created a total of 29 fraudulent invoices, which were forged to appear as genuine documents authorised by the company CEO's personal assistant.

At Inner London Crown Court Iqbal, of Monarch Way, Newbury Park, Ilford was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment.

He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to defraud between July and August, 2017.

Iqbal was employed by a City of London firm and the fake invoices purported to be from various companies.

Temporary Detective Sergeant Darren Norton, from the City of London Police, said: “This was a shameless and ludicrous attempt by an employee to defraud his employer out of a substantial amount of money. 

“This is a great result and reflects that cases like this will be pursued by law enforcement. 

“We will continue to work tirelessly to bring fraudsters to justice.”

The company conducted an internal investigation and discovered that all of the fake invoices were processed instantly by Iqbal. 

This was flagged as suspicious as most invoices were not usually processed until hours, or even days, after being received.

The company reported Iqbal to the City of London Police and he was arrested on Thursday September 7, 2017.

In his police interview, Iqbal denied all knowledge of the fake invoices and maintained that the speed at which he processed them was because he was a very efficient worker.

A search of a computer seized from Iqbal’s home uncovered a copy of a fake invoice that had similar features to those he processed.