Three individuals convicted of laundering Australian dollars through cryptocurrency have been ordered to pay a total of £23.6 million by the court today. Stephen William Boys, 56, was convicted at Preston Crown Court on January 13, 2023, alongside Kelly Caton, 46, and Jordan Kane Robinson, 26. All three were found guilty of fraudulently obtaining millions of Australian dollars from an Australian cryptocurrency exchange and laundering the funds.
The trio was sentenced to six years (Boys), four and a half years (Caton), and four and a half years (Robinson) in prison, respectively. They were associated with James Parker, who orchestrated the fraud from his home in Blackpool over a three-month period between October 2017 and January 2018. Parker exploited a loophole in a cryptocurrency platform, illegally acquiring credits worth more than £20 million.
Over the three-month period, Parker withdrew £15 million worth of crypto assets, while his associates Caton and Robinson withdrew £2.7 million and £1.7 million, respectively. However, Parker passed away in January 2021 before facing prosecution.
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) worked closely with Lancashire Police to ensure the criminals didn’t benefit from their illicit actions. In collaboration with the North West Regional Organised Crime Unit (NWROCU), assets connected to their unlawful activities were identified. A Civil Recovery Order was secured in the High Court, and nearly £1 million worth of assets linked to Parker’s property was seized. A significant portion of the laundered funds has already been returned to the Australian cryptocurrency exchange.
Andrew Kerrigan from the CPS said, “These defendants profited from a large-scale cryptocurrency laundering operation, and this case shows the CPS’s determination to tackle cybercrime and target criminal assets internationally.”
In the last five years, CPS Confiscation Orders have recovered £450 million, with £88 million returned to victims as compensation.
