£28m recovered from Lancashire gang who stole Bitcoin by exploiting glitch on cryptocurrency website

What did they do?

James Parker, from Blackpool, discovered a glitch in 2017 which allowed him to steal money from an Australian cryptocurrency trading website.

He and his co-conspirators then siphoned off more than £20m worth of credits over a three-month period.

Parker’s corrupt financial adviser Stephen Boys, who earned the nickname ‘Rodney’ from ‘Only Fools and Horses’, helped launder the stolen funds.

The scam made so much money that £5,000 gift cards were handed out to people in the street and cars were bought for people Parker met in the pub.

During the trial, Boys told the court how he took £1m in cash in a suitcase to buy a villa from Russians he met in the back office of an estate agent.

He also used £60,000 to pay off corrupt officials so he could carry on laundering money.

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What did police recover during the investigation?

During the investigation police recovered 445 Bitcoin, then worth £22m.

Officers also recovered luxury watches, houses, cars and designer goods, including a £600 wine cooler, along with more than £1m in bank accounts.

At a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) hearing held at Preston Crown Court today, it was revealed that Lancashire Police’s Economic Crime Unit had managed to seize assets totalling £4,029,293.13 from Robinson, £7,928,308.59 from Caton, £11,670,329.30 from Boys, around £8,000,000 from Parker and £1,100 from Austin-Beddoes.

The total loss to the victim was £24.5 million and they have been compensated in full.

Due to the increase in the value of Bitcoin purchased by the offenders, the amount seized outstripped the original fraud by around £3m.

The force said the surplus would be split between the Home Office, the courts and Lancashire Police.

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How long were they jailed for?

Lancashire Police worked closely with international law enforcement, including in Australia and Finland, and the Crown Prosecution Service to bring the gang to justice.

James Parker died in 2021 before he could be prosecuted, but his co-conspirators were sentenced to the following in January 2023:

• Stephen Boys, 61, from Clayton-le-Moors, was jailed for six years for money laundering.
• Jordan Robinson, 26, from Fleetwood, was jailed for four and a half years for conspiracy to commit fraud, two years for acquisition of criminal property and two years for converting criminal property.
• Kelly Caton, 24, previously of an address in Blackpool, was jailed for four and a half years for conspiracy to commit fraud, two years for acquisition of criminal property and two years for converting criminal property.
• James Austin-Beddoes, 30, from Lytham, was given a suspended sentence for conspiracy to commit fraud, acquisition of criminal property and converting criminal property.

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What did Lancashire Police say about the investigation

Det Sgt Dave Wainwright, from Lancashire Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “This has been an extremely challenging investigation which has tested our use of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

“I am pleased that the victim has been compensated in full and that the defendants have been unable to benefit from their criminal activity.

“The defendants have three months to comply with their court orders or face risking another 14-years imprisonment.

“I would like to thank colleagues from across the police and CPS who contributed to this outstanding result.”