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Afeez Ilesanmi, 35, was part of a group of people who made more than a dozen victims “feel like idiots” with a “nasty” scam. They repeated this con over 14 months from August 2017 to October 2018.  

A court heard it involved them agreeing to purchase second-hand electrical goods on sites such as Gumtree and eBay, and they would send the sellers faked realistic-looking clone emails making it appear they had sent payment over the online payment system Paypal, with sellers then sending the goods.

They were sent to a number of addresses, including Ilesanmi’s in Newton Heath, Manchester.

The buyers would then “disappear into the ether”, said Josh Bowker, prosecuting, told Manchester Crown Court on Thursday.

In some cases they would “double down” on the fraud and send emails purporting to show they had overpaid and demanding refunds, to be paid into a number of bank accounts which the court heard had been set up “with the sole purpose of furthering the fraud.”

In total, the group including Ilesanmi and “others unknown”, pocketed £8,000 in goods and money.

There was also attempted but failed frauds totalling £4,800.

Ilesanmi had denied his involvement until three days before his trial was due to start in May this year, when he admitted theft, two counts of fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit fraud.

Judge Recorder Taylor sentenced the man to 19 months in prison suspended for two years, with a six-month curfew between the hours of 8pm and 6am.

Sentencing, the judge said: “You made fools out of people expecting you to pay for goods.

“People using eBay and sites like that.

“You then made them feel doubly foolish by contacting them and asking them to pay you even more money as so-called refunds for excess payments.

“This was a fraud which was long in duration and was carefully executed in its planning.

“However you are 35 years of age, a man of previous good character and you have a family who needs you and those factors have just about kept you out of prison today.”

“This was a nasty offence, where you made people, at home, feel like idiots as they lost their goods and on some occasions, money as well.”

The court heard Ilesanmi, who has four children, was arrested in November 2018 and his home was searched. Police found a driving licence which had been stolen from a student over a year previous.

His identity had then been used to open up a Mastercard and a bank account, the court was told.

WhatsApp messages between himself and some of the victims, as well as co-conspirators, were also discovered on his phone.

In interview he said he had agreed to accept deliveries for a man in Nigeria called ‘Peter Simon’ and that he also let him use his bank account but denied any involvement in fraud.

However, the judge described that as “completely unbelievable”.

Helena Williams, defending, told the judge Ilesanmi had recently taken work as a Deliveroo rider as a way of legitimately earning money.

She said: “He has pleaded guilty and as a result of that accepts he will be sentenced on the basis of the facts as laid out by the prosecution.

“Although this was a sustained incident at the time it happened, the fact he has stayed out of trouble shows this was a one-off incident that has not been repeated.

“He’s a family man and spends a great deal of time helping at home, and takes a hands-on approach to his parenting responsibilities.”

The dad has no previous convictions.

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