A COURIER who collected money from the elderly victims of an elaborate fake police investigation con has been put behind bars.

Vidunas Tutkus, 23, admitted six counts of fraud partway through a trial at Ipswich Crown Court.

A jury had heard how Tutkus had acted as part of a conspiracy to dupe elderly people out of their money by pressuring them into taking part in a bogus investigation into stolen money.

Lynne Shirley, prosecuting at Ipswich Crown Court, told a jury how the con would start with a telephone call to the victim.

A man claiming to be a detective would tell victims money had been stolen from their account.
He would pressure them into visiting their bank to withdraw substantial sums of cash, under strict instructions not to tell anyone about the investigation.

The victims were often told to keep their phone off the hook, or to stay on the line, while they took a taxi to their bank and withdrew the money.

Once they had returned home, the bogus detective would instruct them to read out serial numbers on some of the bank notes.

They would be told the cash had been deemed “forfeit,” and that a courier would arrive shortly to collect the money.

The jury were told Tutkus would then arrive on the victim’s doorstep, quoting an agreed-upon password before collecting the cash and, on occasion, bank cards.

Over the phone, the victims were assured the money would be returned once “the culprit” had been caught.

One of the victims, who lives in Elmstead Market, withdrew £15,000 over the course of three days, handing over packages containing £5,000 on two occasions.

Victims were also targetted in Kent, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire and Hampshire.

After Tutkus, of Malden Road, London, admitted the fraud charges during the first day of a trial, one count of conspiracy to commit fraud and one further count of fraud were left to lie on file.

He was sentenced to 19 months imprisonment.