Darlington pensioners left devastated by courier fraud

The callous fraudsters conned two vulnerable Darlington pensioners out of their life savings with one losing £120,000 and he has still not received a single penny back.

One 85-year-old man handed over thousands of pounds in cash as well as being persuaded to buy high-value Rolex watches to the gang who had been posing as Scotland Yard detectives.

Over a number of days, the fraudsters built up a relationship with the pensioner after convincing him that his bank account had been compromised.

As a result of the quick thinking of a Darlington Building Society member of staff one of the gang members was caught red-handed after he raised concerns about the pensioner’s banking behaviour and the police were contacted.

Read more: Courier fraudsters posing as police fleeced vulnerable victims out of £200,000

Mya Haskins had been driven from her home in the Midlands to pick up another bundle of cash but got a shock when a police officer answered the door instead of the frail pensioner.

In a victim impact statement, one pensioner told Teesside Crown Court how he had lost everything and was left unable to pay for his wife’s care.

He said the scam had badly affected him leaving feeling depressed and it was made worse by him not being able to visit his wife in the care home during the Covid pandemic.

Awais Zaman was jailed for 34 months (Image: Durham Constabulary)

The second Darlington victim lost around £20,000 to the fraudsters; he told the court he had tried to get his money back from his bank but they told him it was ‘essentially’ his own fault.

He added: “Perhaps it was my fault, I was too trusting. Since this has happened, I am very wary of people I don’t know closely.

“I feel like I have to be on my guard at all times. I felt like an idiot for being so gullible, I blame myself to a large extent, I should have realised it wasn’t right when they told me to buy a Rolex watch.”

Adriana Andrade was jailed for 16 months (Image: Durham Constabulary)

And a retired university professor and Army veteran from Durham was also scammed out of thousands of pounds and was forced to borrow of friends and family to survive.

The 85-year-old said: “It was a shock to be scammed in this way, I did know about life and was aware of scam emails because they always seem fake. After the money was taken from me, I got very depressed for several weeks.”

Awais Zaman, of Brooklyn Road, Coventry, was sentenced to two years and ten months in custody; Arris Qumar, of York Close, Coventry, was sentenced to three years and eight months; Mya Haskins, of Izod Road, Rugby, was sentenced to one year and ten months in custody; and Adriana Andrade, of Norman Road, Rugby, was sentenced to 16 months in custody.

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