A "cowardly" gang recruited, trafficked and exploited vulnerable teenaged girls to carry out fraud.

Over 30 victims of exploitation were identified and £500k in profits were seized as part of the investigation.

The criminal gang from Cambridge, London and Essex recruited, trained and trafficked teenage girls across the country to commit refund fraud in high street stores using fake receipts.

The girls would be instructed to place fake barcodes on items to pay a much cheaper price, before later asking for a refund at the full price.

Sergeant PJ Jones, officer in the case from the Met’s Predatory Offender Unit, said: “This is a serious case involving the criminal exploitation of a large number of juvenile girls spanning many years.

“Olugosi and others were too cowardly to execute their own crimes, and actively recruited girls with obvious vulnerabilities. They embedded themselves through peer groups of vulnerable people using them to commit fraud and using their accounts to launder money."

Following a three-week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, on Thursday Eva Dambrauskaite, 21, of Palmerston Road, Buckhurst Hill, was found guilty of conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for the purposes of exploitation; two counts of conspiracy to defraud;  concealing/converting/transferring criminal property (money laundering), possession of articles for use in fraud, and possession of cannabis.

 Isaiah Olugosi, 38, of Lower Road, Ely, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for the purposes of exploitation; two counts of conspiracy to defraud; concealing/converting/transferring criminal property (money laundering) and possession of articles for use in fraud.

Holly Olugosi, 31, of Lower Road, Ely, Cambridgeshire, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to concealing/converting/transferring criminal property (money laundering).

Baran Karamagara, 22, of Lordship Lane, Tottenham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to arrange or facilitate the travel of children for the purposes of exploitation and two counts of conspiracy to defraud.

All four are due to appear at the same court for sentencing at a date yet to be confirmed.

The court heard that between January 2018 and March 2020, Isiah Olugosi orchestrated a large-scale fraud enterprise targeting branches of two established retailers across the UK.

Isaiah Olugosi lived with his wife Holly in Cambridgeshire and from at least January 2018, began making money for himself and his family by targeting two retailers using fraudulent receipts and printed barcodes produced at his home. Bank data shows proceeds of crime entering the accounts as far back as 2013.

The operation was too large for one person to control alone and Olugosi quickly began to build up a network of trusted associates including ‘team leaders’ and ‘drivers’ who were willing to partake in this criminal enterprise across the country.

Many of the victims were recruited whilst housed in foster placements or semi-independent supported facilities, and some had frequently been reported missing by their families. 

The girls would often be missing for several days, committing fraud during the day and being housed in hotels each night.

The funds gained were then laundered through at least one hundred UK bank accounts, and Isaiah Olugosi, Karamagara and Dambrausakite took control of these accounts, in many instances from children or adults with mental health problems and other vulnerabilities. To evade authorities, mobile phones and vehicles were registered at addresses of adults known to have mental health problems or severe learning difficulties.

Karamagara and Dambrauskaite were arrested at addresses in Essex and Tottenham on 16 March 2020.

Isaiah Olugosi was arrested at an address in Ilford on 17 March 2020.

Holly Olugosi was interviewed under caution at a police station in Cambridgeshire on 17 June 2020.

On 26 August 2020, Dambrauskaite and Karamagara were re-arrested, questioned, charged and remanded. Isaiah Olugosi was not present when officers attended his home address in Ely and he promptly took steps to evade police.