A MAN from Wrexham has admitted his role in a £37 million copycat website fraud scam.

Six people have been sentenced to a total of more than 35 years in prison after being convicted of defrauding UK consumers out of more than £37m in one of the largest UK online crime cases.

They operated a number of ‘copycat websites’, impersonating official government services to sell passports, driving licences and other key documents for vastly inflated prices.

The convictions and sentences follow one of the biggest investigations undertaken by the National Trading Standards eCrime Team.

These sentences were handed down following two trials – one in July 2017 and the other in March 2018.

The convictions and sentences relating to the July 2017 trial can only be reported now due reporting restrictions which were in place.

Liam Hincks, 28, of St Albans Heights, Tanyfron, pleaded guilty before the July 2017 trial began and was sentenced to three years for his part in the multi-million pound fraud.

Hincks also pleaded guilty before the March 2018 trial and will be sentenced at a later date.

The July 2017 trial heard how the defendants set up copycat websites through the company Tadservices Limited between January 2011 and November 2014.

These sites mimicked official websites run by eleven government agencies and departments and manipulated search engine results to appear more genuine. They knowingly misled hundreds of thousands of consumers into paying more than they needed for a number of government services including new or replacement passports, visas, birth and death certificates, driving licences, driving tests, car tax discs and the London Congestion Charge.

The criminals also set up websites that mimicked the American, Turkish, Cambodian, Vietnamese and Sri Lankan official visa sites where travellers could apply and pay for electronic visas to visit those countries. In all cases the sites offered little or no additional value to consumers using them. It is believed that in addition to UK consumers Indian, Turkish and US citizens were also defrauded.

The second trial in March 2018 heard how five defendants established a series of copycat websites through the companies Online Forms Limited and AE Online Services Limited in 2014 and 2015.

These copycat websites mimicked a range of the visa application websites in countries including the United States, India, Turkey, Bahrain and Sri Lanka.

Lord Toby Harris, who chairs National Trading Standards, said: “These convictions represent an important milestone in the fight against online fraud.

"This was a huge fraud and a very large number of people lost money as a result of the malicious actions of these criminals.

"Our eCrime team, operating with finite resources, has worked tirelessly to bring these criminals to justice and I’m delighted their efforts have led to these historic convictions.

“I urge members of the public to report any copycat websites they spot to the Citizens Advice consumer service by calling 03454 04 05 06.”

Mike Andrews from the National Trading Standards eCrime Team said: “This was a crime motivated by greed. This group defrauded people so they could enjoy a luxury lifestyle.

"They showed no regard for the unnecessary costs they imposed on their victims. I would say they treated them with contempt.

“I urge people to always use the GOV.UK website when looking to apply for any kind of government service such as a passport, driving licence or EHIC card.

"Search engines may seem the easiest route but searching using the GOV.UK website is the safest way of ensuring you do not fall victim to a copycat website.”