A Watford man is among three people jailed for impersonating police officers and stealing more than £4 million worth of cryptocurrency from eight victims.
Kevin Nwamma, 25, of Clarendon Road, Watford, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday, July 16, alongside Anthony Ikenwe, 29, and Hamza Bashir, 23.
The gang contacted victims while pretending to be police officers and claimed their cryptocurrency was at risk. They then persuaded them to hand over account details or transfer funds into what they believed were secure police accounts.
Fake police websites used to deceive victims
The Metropolitan Police said the group created convincing-looking police websites as part of the fraud.
Once the cryptocurrency was transferred, it was stolen and laundered through a complex financial network. Victims began reporting the fraud in January 2025, prompting an investigation by the Met’s Cryptocurrency Team.
Detectives examined blockchain transactions, communications, financial records, cryptocurrency exchange accounts and internet service provider data.
They linked aliases, phone numbers, websites, cryptocurrency wallets and spending patterns that initially appeared to relate to separate offences.
Detective Inspector Geoff Donoghue, from the Metropolitan Police’s Cryptocurrency Team, said: “This was a highly complex investigation into a group of calculated manipulators who exploited victims’ trust by pretending to be police officers and spent other people’s money to fund their extravagant lifestyles.
“The Met’s Cryptocurrency Team painstakingly traced millions of pounds, combining a wide range of investigative techniques to dismantle a significant criminal network.
“Criminals should be under no illusion – policing is evolving alongside technology.
“We have the capabilities to trace and seize high-value assets, and we will do everything in our power to identify those responsible for these fraudulent crimes and bring them to justice.”
Watford defendant sentenced to six years
Nwamma was jailed for six years for conspiracy to commit fraud and five years for money laundering, with the sentences to run concurrently.
Ikenwe, of Bata Mews, East Tilbury, received the same sentence.
Bashir, of Beverley Way, Wimbledon, was jailed for three years and nine months for conspiracy to commit fraud and three years for money laundering, also to run concurrently.
Police carried out coordinated raids at seven addresses across London and Essex on November 20 last year.
All three men were arrested, while officers seized around 40 mobile phones, digital devices, luxury goods and cryptocurrency assets. Around £1 million directly linked to victims’ money was recovered.
Ikenwe and Nwamma pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering offences.
Bashir initially denied involvement but changed his plea to guilty during the eighth day of his trial after prosecutors presented evidence against him.
Luxury holidays and designer shopping
Police said the men funded lavish lifestyles despite having little or no verified income.
Investigators identified more than £1 million in cryptocurrency connected to wallets controlled by Ikenwe, who had a recorded annual income of £444.
The gang’s spending included a car worth almost £60,000, around £500,000 in cash held in a Dubai safety deposit box and holidays to Thailand, Japan, Paris, Mykonos, the Maldives and the Seychelles.
They also made shopping trips to Harrods, Hermès and Louis Vuitton and spent money on luxury hotels and restaurants. Goods worth more than £26,000 were recovered during police searches.
Investigators linked criminal proceeds to Nwamma after tracing stolen cryptocurrency into bank accounts associated with his luxury chauffeur and transport business.
The Met said it continues to work with UK and international partners to identify other people potentially connected to the conspiracy and recover further assets for the victims.
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