UK Money Launderer Sentenced for Role in £2m Computer Support Fraud
Gyaltse Yolmo, a 42-year-old man, has been jailed for 38 months after pleading guilty to money laundering charges at Leeds Crown Court. Yolmo was the final member of a laundering network to be sentenced for his involvement in a large-scale computer support scam that defrauded hundreds of British victims of over £2 million.
Sophisticated Fraud Operation Targeting Vulnerable Individuals
The National Trading Standards eCrime Team investigation revealed an organised network that specifically targeted UK consumers, with elderly people and those lacking confidence using computers being primary victims. Fraudsters, operating from India, posed as representatives of well-known technology brands including HP, Microsoft, and Norton to gain victims' trust.
Victims were contacted and misled into believing their computers required urgent repairs, even when no issues existed. In many cases, individuals were persuaded to grant remote access to their devices and were contacted repeatedly over months, pressured into making additional payments for unnecessary services.
Company Used to Process Criminal Proceeds
Yolmo served as the sole director of UK Infotech Technology Ltd, one of several companies established specifically to receive payments from fraud victims between November 2015 and January 2019. The court heard that his company received hundreds of thousands of pounds from defrauded individuals, with most funds subsequently transferred to the fraudsters operating from India.
The investigation found that victims paid significantly inflated prices for meaningless computer "repairs," with costs often exceeding what it would have taken to purchase entirely new computer systems. One victim alone paid more than £4,400 to individuals they believed were legitimate HP representatives.
Devastating Impact on Victims
Beyond the substantial financial losses, victims reported severe emotional and psychological consequences from the fraud. Many elderly victims lost sums they could not afford to lose, leaving them fearful of using computers or the internet again. Some described losing sleep and experiencing mental exhaustion after realising they had been deceived.
One victim compared the experience to having a criminal intrude into their home, highlighting the profound sense of violation caused by the scam. The National Trading Standards emphasised that the fraud deliberately exploited vulnerable individuals, leaving them feeling anxious, distressed, and ashamed.
Coordinated Law Enforcement Response
The National Trading Standards eCrime Team, hosted by City of York Council and North Yorkshire Council, conducted the investigation with support from officers from West Midlands, Staffordshire, and Wiltshire police services. Before Yolmo's sentencing, six other defendants had already received combined prison sentences totalling over 12 years for laundering proceeds from the same fraud operation.
Lord Bichard, Chair of National Trading Standards, stated: "Today's sentencing underlines that those who profit by enabling fraud, and who help keep these crimes running, will be held fully accountable."
Mike Andrews, National Coordinator of the National Trading Standards eCrime Team, added: "Whilst Gyaltse Yolmo was not directly responsible for the scam itself, his role in laundering criminal funds was essential to its operation. By setting up and running a company to process payments, he helped take victims' money and left people feeling embarrassed, ashamed and deeply shaken."
The authorities have urged anyone who believes they may have fallen victim to similar fraud to report it to the Citizens Advice consumer service helpline at 0808 223 1133.
