Five in court over £20m ‘Bitcoin con’ from a Fleetwood hotel room

A multi-million pound Bitcoin cyber fraud  is alleged to have be master minded from a hotel room.
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Five people have made their first appearances at court charged with playing roles in an alleged conspiracy involving up to £20m.

There would have been a sixth, but James Parker died aged 52 during the investigation by Lancashire Police.

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He stayed in a room at the North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood, where he bought a fleet of Mercedes cars for the use of his friend.

North Euston Hotel in FleetwoodNorth Euston Hotel in Fleetwood
North Euston Hotel in Fleetwood

Prosecutor Malcolm Isherwood told magistrates: “This has been a long running investigation involving a vast amount of money - millions of pounds.”

The conspiracy is alleged to have gone of for almost two years.The people involved are alleged to have used a loophole at a company called Coinspo, operated by Australian firm Casey Block Services.

The five accused are: James Austin-Beddoes, 26, of Brighton Avenue, Blackpool, who faces a conspiracy to commit fraud relating to the crypto currency Bitcoin and an allegation of possessing criminal property from the proceeds of Bitcoin sales.

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Financial advisor Stephen Boys, 56, of Winster Court, Accrington, is charged with conspiracy to launder the proceeds of bitcoin sales.

Kelly Caton, 43, of Livingstone Road,Blackpool, is also charged with conspiracy to defraud using a digital trading platform to gain Australian dollars.

She is also accused of possessing the proceeds from the sale of Bitcoin.

Hanza Moosa Kambi, 33, of London, is currently in Dubai where he runs a property business and the English justice system will not allow a video link from a defendant based in a foreign country.

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He will return to the UK on April 6, and go into hotel quarantine because of pandemic rules.He will then link with Blackpool Magistrates Court from his hotel room during that week.

Jordan Robinson, 22, of Poulton Road, Fleetwood, faces the conspiracy charge and a charge of possessing the illegal proceeds from the sale of Bitcoin.

None of the defendants entered any pleas and will appear at Preston Crown Court on April 14.

Prosecutor Malcolm Isherwood told magistrates: “This case involves vast sums of money many millions of pounds.”

They were all bailed.