Two men have been sentenced for stealing over £5.7 million worth of cryptocurrency from victims around the globe. Jake Lee, 38, from Charlcombe in Bath, and James Heppel, 42, from Staverton in Wiltshire, both pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud.
The South West Regional Organised Crime Unit (SWROCU) identified 55 victims across 26 countries, including 11 from the UK, who fell prey to the duo’s scheme. On May 3, Bristol Crown Court sentenced Lee to four years in prison, while Heppel received a 15-month sentence.
Among the stolen assets was £551,000 in cash that Lee voluntarily handed over in January. The pair deceived victims by replicating the website of the cryptocurrency exchange Blockchain.com, gaining access to their Bitcoin wallets and stealing funds along with login credentials.
Police confiscated a 2003 Banksy print titled “Bomb Love,” valued at £60,000, as well as cash totaling £835,000, £64,000 in cryptocurrency, and three vehicles. A confiscation order for nearly £1 million was placed against Lee to compensate victims, with proceedings for a similar order against Heppel currently underway.
Detective Superintendent Matt Brain from SWROCU’s Regional Cyber Crime Unit stated that the investigation began after Avon and Somerset Police arrested Lee on suspicion of money laundering. Officers recovered £24,000 in cash and three digital devices, including laminated Bitcoin wallet recovery seeds.
Simultaneously, SWROCU was investigating a cryptocurrency scam involving a Wiltshire victim who lost £11,000 worth of Bitcoin. “The analysis of Lee’s devices revealed he was a key figure in a sophisticated domain spoofing fraud,” Brain noted.
Specialist prosecutor Pamela Jain remarked on the complexity of the case, highlighting the extensive inquiries involving numerous victims and international prosecuting authorities.