The mastermind behind the ISPOF fraud was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison

The boss of an online fraud shop which was used to con victims out of more than £100 million has been jailed for more than 13 years.

Tejay Fletcher, 35, bought a £230,000 Lamborghini, two £110,000 Range Rovers and an £11,000 Rolex after making almost £2m from the icepop.cc website.

He was the founder and lead administrator of the site, which was brought down in the UK’s biggest fraud scandal last year.

Criminals have been given tools to disguise phone calls so they can appear to be from a trusted organization, such as a bank, and empty their targets’ accounts.

Victims around the world were defrauded of at least £100 million, including at least £43 million from people in the UK, Southwark Crown Court was told.

The website earned £3.2 million in the cryptocurrency Bitcoin, with the “lion’s share” of nearly £2 million going to Fletcher, prosecutor John Ojakovoh said.

Fletcher last month pleaded guilty to four charges between November 30 2020 and November 8 2022.

Judge Sally Cahill told Casey he was jailed for a total of 13 years and four months on Friday: “It was a tragedy for all the victims.”

One victim lost £3 million, while 4,785 people targeted by the Action scam lost an average of £10,000, police said.

The judge said they suffered damage to their businesses, personal financial problems, insomnia, depression, emotional stress and conflict with family members.

Fletcher, who has 18 previous convictions for 36 offences, “didn’t care” about them, she said, adding: “The late expression of remorse is regret for catching you rather than pity for your victims.”

“In my view, the evidence clearly shows that you had a leading and active role in the forgery of a sophisticated article that brought you enormous profits.”

Simon Baker Casey, defending, told the judge that his client had no idea of ​​the extent of the fraud when they set up the website.

But the judge told Fletcher, “Like any successful business, you have no idea how successful and profitable your company will be.”

Fletcher was arrested at his East London home last November as part of an international campaign to take down ISPOF, part of the UK’s biggest fraud operation.

Judge Cahill praised the Metropolitan Police force for its investigation which involved 700 days of work.

The court heard Fletcher rented an east London flat with views of Royal Victoria Docks and the city skyline and owned a £230,000 Lamborghini.

Fletcher spent a total of £120,000 on two Range Rovers for him and his girlfriend, while police found a cash register, jewelery and an £11,000 Rolex at his home.

Met ISPOF was created in December 2020 and had a peak of 59,000 users, with up to 20 people per minute being targeted by callers using technology purchased from the site.

The scam calls, along with other features offered through the site to obtain passwords and PINs, were all used to empty victims’ bank accounts.

Users of the site paid hundreds or thousands of pounds each month for features, marketed through a channel on Telegram’s encrypted messaging app called “ISPOFF Club”.

The court heard Fletcher carried out “market research”, promoted new products and encouraged consumers to cheat.

Mr Baker described Fletcher, who has a young son, as “a very bright young man”, adding: “It is a pity that the mind is not diverted to useful activities.”

The barrister added that in the years before his arrest he had worked with a youth charity developing an anti-bullying campaign and was offered a place at a drama school.

Mr Baker said: “The guilty plea reflects his genuine remorse and regret for his actions and his sincere desire to apologize to those who have been harmed by the scams caused by the ISPoff website.

Kate Anderson, deputy chief prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “Fraud is not a victimless crime and the cost to many victims in this case was not only financial but also had a huge emotional impact. It caused great distress and devastation to those affected – many of whom were robbed of their life savings.

“This was a complex and challenging case, and I would like to thank the Metropolitan Police and the many national and international law enforcement partners who worked with the CPS to bring us the evidence.

“We were able to show how Fletcher helped set up the website, which gave people the tools to deceive others.”

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley said: “We are proud to have brought down the criminals at the top of this fraudulent network, which is dedicated to facilitating fraud on an industrial scale that has ruined the lives of many victims.

“Closing Icepof is the UK’s biggest fraud operation and is a joint effort.

“The investigative excellence of the detectives who led this case is a great example of the expertise at the Met working to bring justice to victims. Huge credit is also due to DC Ed Sehmer on the case.”