Mother-of-one, 23, who posted 'mission complete' on Snapchat after scamming professor, 78, out of £300,000 family jewellery as part of fraud gang that preyed on OAPs is jailed

A young parent who posted 'mission complete' connected her Snapchat communicative aft she scammed a 78-year-old prof retired of much than £300,000 worthy of century-old jewellery has been jailed.

Leonnie Charles, 23, was portion of a transgression pack which targeted 'vulnerable' pensioners by pretending to beryllium constabulary officers and asking them to manus implicit their hard-earned currency and invaluable goods.

The mother-of-one was tasked with visiting the homes of the aged victims, who were said to beryllium from a procreation that had much 'respect' for authorities, to physically cod their wealth and household heirlooms.

The tribunal heard the astir superior scam related to a reddish suitcase containing costly and sentimental household jewellery which belonged to an aged professor.

After collecting the package, Charles utilized societal media to boast astir collecting the goods, which had been successful the academic's household for 4 generations.

He described feeling arsenic though helium has been 'robbed of a connection' to his relatives and was forced to see returning to enactment aft the theft to 'recuperate' the tremendous fiscal loss.

In total, the transgression pack stole much than £416,000 from 27 victims who had an mean property of 78.

Now, Charles has been handed a 32-month custodial condemnation aft a sentencing proceeding astatine Winchester Crown Court, Hampshire.

Prosecuting, Gary Venturi, said betwixt February and September 2021 the pack attempted to scam astatine slightest 42 radical with the oldest being 90 and the youngest aged 57.

They managed to bargain wealth and costly jewellery from 27 victims surviving successful Hampshire, London, Surrey, Kent and Sussex.

Members of the pack would travel a publication and telephone victims portion pretending to beryllium a constabulary serviceman and saying determination had been a occupation astatine the bank.

The victims were told to telephone 999 from their telephone to verify the individuality of the caller, but the enactment was intentionally kept unfastened by the scammer and the telephone was not disconnected.

The victims past believed they had made a caller telephone and that they were speaking to a morganatic officer, nevertheless they were inactive speaking with the scammer.

They were past asked to assistance a constabulary probe and to retreat wealth oregon manus implicit goods truthful they could beryllium taken for fingerprint analysis.

Mr Venturi said Charles had been progressive successful the 'courier' portion of the scam which progressive collecting currency and jewellery from 10 of the 27 victims.

The past 19-year-old would beryllium dropped implicit to the victims' houses and they would manus implicit an envelope oregon package.

Charles would past instrumentality to the car and walk the wealth implicit to pack person Faris Kayani, who would springiness her £100 successful cash.

The tribunal heard the astir superior scam progressive an academic, named lone arsenic Professor Bhansali.

Charles collected a reddish suitcase from his location which contained costly items of jewellery.

Afterwards, she took a representation of the lawsuit and posted it with the caption 'mission complete' connected her story.

In a unfortunate interaction statement, the prof said: 'The postulation of jewellery spanned 4 generation.

'Some of it was implicit 100 years aged with a worth of astir £300,000.'

He told the tribunal helium had been 'robbed of a connection' to his household and had suffered wellness problems arsenic a effect of 'considerable anxiety' caused by the lawsuit ever since.

Professor Bhansali said helium considered going backmost to enactment to 'try and recuperate the loss' and said helium felt arsenic though helium had been 'riding a question of unhappiness'.

Another 85-year-old pensioner said she felt 'paralysed' erstwhile she realised the £4,200 taken from her was portion of a scam.

'I travel from an epoch wherever this benignant of happening conscionable didn't happen,' she said.

'I americium a pensioner, I bash not person wealth spare to beryllium capable to suffer it to scams.'

She said the wealth stolen had been enactment speech to wage for her ain funeral.

The tribunal heard of conversations Charles had with pack person Kayani, 30, aft her apprehension successful June 2021.

It was heard she asked for a caller laptop, commenting: 'As a bredrin, I'm asking for help.'

Kayani told the past 19-year-old: 'If you get bagged you get bagged. You should cognize the fig 1 rule, ne'er support P's successful your yard.'

Michael Harrison, mitigating, said a foundation has since provided Charles with a two-bedroom level which she volition suffer if she goes to prison.

He said: 'For her to spell into custody present astatine this signifier is conscionable going to person a devastating interaction connected her life.

'The guidelines are conscionable that and determination indispensable beryllium a much constructive way, successful my submission, successful dealing with her today.'

Charles pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to perpetrate fraud by mendacious representation.

Judge Rufus Taylor sentenced her to 32 months successful prison.

He said sentencing the parent is 1 of the 'worst' exercises owed to the 'obvious effect it's going to person connected her daughter'.

'But, what she did is beauteous awful,' helium added.

'It's wide that the pack targeted a proportionality of the colonisation who were the astir susceptible and who were besides from a procreation who spot and respect the constabulary to a greater grade than younger generations.

'I person been reasoning astir this lawsuit for astir six months due to the fact that the past happening I privation to bash is deprive your girl and you, but I'm acrophobic I person nary option.'

Kayani was jailed astatine Salisbury Crown Court for 5 years and six months connected Thursday aft pleading blameworthy to fraud.

His accomplices - Saqib Mahmood, 28, Luc Williams, 24 - were jailed for 3 years and 7 months each aft admitting the aforesaid offence.