Lansbury Worthington has successfully defended the man who tried to defraud Cressida Dick, the most senior woman in the Metropolitan Police Force, of over £200,000.

The conspiracy involved the theft of bank details of high net worth individuals from a well known high street bank. A Nigerian gang used complicated and sophisticated spyware and computer phishing programs to secure access to compromised personal banking information that was then distributed to other gangs and criminal networks around the world.

Lansbury Worthington’s client was presented by the prosecution to be a leading role in the gang and responsible for the planning and distribution of the compromised information. This was disputed by the client who argued that his role was much less involved and that he was only brought in at the last minute and did not fully understand the extent of the gang’s criminal involvement.

The client’s case was argued before the Crown Court at Southwark in a two day Newton Hearing so that the Judge could establish the extent of the client’s involvement. The Judge heard evidence from the police officers and the client, and after considering all the evidence found the client to be guilty on the basis put forward by the client. This result successfully and dramatically reduced the length of the custodial sentence the client received.