Fraudster pair sentenced after scamming elderly neighbour out of £100,000

An investigation into a couple in Eccles uncovered that they duped their elderly and vulnerable neighbour out of over £100,000 over the course of 2 years.

The investigation was launched by detectives in GMP’s Economic Crime Unit after a bank reported to police they believed suspicious activity was taking place in a 76-year-old man’s bank account.

It was quickly established that the victim was a neighbour of Lee Hodson and Jennifer Picken.

Hodson was able to dupe and deceive his way into being named on the victim’s financial accounts by creating online access whilst posing as the victim.

He did this by stealing confidential post, personal paperwork and the victim’s private information such as date of birth, phone numbers, previous addresses, occupations and his N.I number in order to pass online security checks.

Hodson successfully impersonated the victim and setup online accounts using his own contact details and then proceeded to use his girlfriend’s bank account to launder the money after updating the details online.

Hodson also updated the victim’s pensions and state benefits so that they would be paid directly into his own account without flagging bank security.

The key amount that flagged suspicion to the victim’s bank and which lead to this investigation was £230,742.39 withdrawn from the victim’s account to Picken’s bank account in June 2021.

The money was withdrawn, spent and dispersed across multiple accounts and family members.

Hodson and Picken were arrested in 2021, they were released pending an investigation but the offending continued while an in-depth investigation into them continued.

After obtaining enough evidence, Hodson was charged with multiple offences including fraud, burglary, escape from lawful custody, assault with intent to resist arrest and money laundering and has been remanded in custody. Picken was also charged with fraud and money laundering offences after she allowed her bank account to be used to move the fund from the victim’s account.

Lee Hodson (20/09/88) from Eccles received a 5 year and 4 months jail sentence after he pleaded guilty to fraud, money laundering, escaping lawful custody, impersonating a police officer and burglary offences.

Jennifer Picken (21/06/93) from Eccles was sentenced to 22 months imprisonment but suspended for two years. She also received 150 hours of community service.

Detective Inspector Tim Flint, who leads a team of fraud detectives in our Economic Crime Team, said: "We were investigating a well-planned fraud which ultimately targeted an elderly gentleman out of £100,000. It was heartless and they preyed on him because of his age.

“Their despicable actions have had a devastating impact on the victim who has now sadly passed away and now his surviving relatives have had to endure a trial.

“In Greater Manchester, we have teams of fraud fighting volunteers who provide invaluable support to our communities, from helping victims of fraud offences to giving presentations to help prevent and reduce fraud, their work is invaluable to policing and we are urging anyone who has an elderly relative to make them aware of this type of fraud.”