Courier fraudster who targeted pensioners in Dudley and Wolverhampton is jailed
A thief involved in a courier scam which saw pensioners from parts of the Black Country conned of more than £50,000 in just over a week has been jailed.
Rene Cardin collected cash from a number of men and women – aged between 68 and 85 years old – after they had been tricked by scammers in April.
The victims received a telephone call from someone claiming to be a police officer who stated counterfeit currency was being used at their local branch and they needed help to investigate.
The targets across Dudley and Wolverhampton, as well as the Birmingham and Solihull areas, were told to withdraw money – under the guise it had to be examined – which was picked up from their homes by 23-year-old Cardin.
West Midlands Police traced Cardin to the crime spree after securing CCTV footage of her car near one of the victims’ addresses.
From there, officers were able to begin linking her to other offences which had led to more than £50,000 combined being stolen across the region in just eight days.
She pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud – linked to six victims – at Birmingham Crown Court.
Two other cases were taken into consideration and Cardin, of Cowles Croft, in Birmingham, was jailed for three years on Wednesday, June 9.
DC Edward Spokes, from the force's economic crime unit, said: "This was an appalling crime spree where vulnerable people were targeted and lost thousands of pounds of money. One woman was tricked into handing over more than £18,000.
"We know Cardin was the courier, rather than the impersonators making the phone calls, but she's never disclosed who she was working alongside.
"She's rightly lost her freedom and we're urging the public to be on their guard against con artists who are looking to exploit their vulnerability for cash."
