British duo jailed for credit card fraud
A British duo, who were working for a syndicate, were each jailed for three years and four months on Friday (June 9) after using counterfeit credit cards to shop for luxury items in Singapore.
Kent University undergraduate Neelima Ahmed, 21, and retail assistant Lorenzo Giacomo Dentamaro, 20, each pleaded guilty to four counts of being in possession of counterfeit credit cards, and one count each of cheating and attempted cheating.
They each had 11 other charges for similar offences taken into consideration during sentencing.
Back in Britain last year, the pair became acquainted with a man known only as Jay, who was a member of a British-based syndicate dealing with counterfeit credit cards.
He offered them a job which involved going overseas to buy for him items using credit cards he provided.
The pair agreed to work for him as they were promised financial rewards.
On Nov 19, last year, they met up with Jay who gave them 12 counterfeit credit cards.
The pair then flew from London and arrived in Singapore at around 5pm the next day.
Deputy Public Prosecutor (DPP) Charis Low said their sole purpose in coming here was to make fraudulent purchases for Jay by using the counterfeit cards.
He also gave them a list of various items which he wanted them to buy.
At around 10.45am on Nov 21, last year, the pair went to the Cartier boutique at Ngee Ann City and Neelima presented three of the counterfeit cards to buy two bracelets worth $30,200 in all.
About two hours later, they went to the Louis Vuitton (LV) store at nearby Ion Orchard where she picked out two wallets and a bag worth $7,370 in all.
She then passed an LV senior client advisor a counterfeit American Express credit to pay for them.
However, he decided to check its authenticity with the credit card company as he felt Neelima was behaving suspiciously.
When he found out the card was counterfeit, he retained it and alerted the police.
DPP Low said: “Before the police arrived, (the pair) hid the remaining counterfeit credit cards in their underwear. They eventually surrendered the credit cards after questioning by the police.”
For cheating, they could have each been jailed up to 10 years and fined.
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