Mitica Agigeanu, a resident of Norfolk, has utilised his bank account in order to launder over £4,000. As a result, he was brought before the law.
He presented himself in front of the Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court and was found guilty of two criminal offences.
As a result, his penalties included:
The hearing addressed the details of the case. Agigeanu’s bank account information was provided to the two victims by a fake caller. This scammer had given them a call on the 3rd of September 2020. He assumed the identity of a RCJ and HMRC representative.
He then claimed that the two victims were due to pay a certain sum of financial reimbursement owing to fallacy in the calculation of tax. In addition, he threatened them, stating that they shall get behind the bars and be imposed a penalty payment of £75,000 if they did not pay him the amount he demanded.
Taken aback and frightened by this call, thinking it to be a truthful claim, the two victims, one aged 37 and the other aged 45, paid a sum of
£2,906 and £1,892, respectively, sending the amount to the bank as per the details which Agigeanu had provided them with.
The court then explained that the bank which Mitica had used for these scamming transactions, was a dormant one, which he does not use in general.
We always encourage you to avoid sharing your personal information with callers. Because, although you might receive a call from HMRC, it’s unlikely that they would ask for your bank details. These processes are usually very thoroughly documented by the tax authority and would never risk jeopardising the taxpayers’s security. In the event that you received a call by someone claiming to be an HMRC representative and they asked for your bank details to pay for something (a fee, a penalty, a charge), ask to have their issue sent in writing to your address. This was if it was HMRC on the line, you would still be cooperative, if it wasn’t HMRC on the line, then you dogged a hefty bullet.
Don’t hesitate to report these calls to HMRC in the event that you receive them.
