Cricklewood businessman faces jail for £132k bank scam
Martino Remani (Pic credit: Central News) - Credit: central news
A businessman from Cricklewood who blew £72,000 of dirty money from a bank scam on jewellery and designer clothes is facing jail.
Martino Remani, 58, Hamlet Square, spent thousands of pounds during a three-day spending spree.
The lavish purchases were funded by money siphoned from HSBC and Barclays Bank customers and into Remani’s American Express account.
He agreed for more than £132,000 to be paid to him while the banks were closed over the Easter weekend last year.
The funds had been siphoned out of a number of victims’ accounts between March 29 and April 1 into Remani’s account.
He started his spree on March 29, spending £4,995 at jewellers Fraser Hart in Friern Barnet, north London, £4,730 in Goldsmith’s jewellers and another £4,950 in the Fraser Hart branch, both in Brent Cross.
The next day he blew £5,000 in John Lewis, used the card for more than £15,000 of purchases at Ernst Jones, Watch Gallery, and Louis Vuitton at Westfield shopping centre, and another £4,985 at the Apple Store in James Street, Covent Garden.
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On April 1 he hit the shops again, spending £4,990 in Fraser Hart at Westfield, the same amount on vouchers from the shopping mall, and another £5010 in vouchers at Westfield in Stratford.
He was caught four days later when he tried to buy £1,500 of cigarettes at Waitrose in Westfield and staff became suspicious.
The conman presented vouchers bought with his Amex card to pay for the cigarettes, but was arrested when shop staff called police.
One victim, Kathryn McCall, lost £21,412.44 from her account, while others like Lee Parker were hit twice for more than £5,000 a time.
Remani was convicted of converting criminal property yesterday after a one-day trial at the Old Bailey.
He will be sentenced on August 22.
