A group of money mules who helped defraud
Wonga of £3.8 million by having cash-funneled
into their accounts have been jailed, one in
absentia because he fled to Nigeria.
Over a 14-month period starting in April 2012,
over 19,000 fraudulent loan applications totalling
£6.2 million were submitted to the company using
stolen identities.
According to City of London Police, a failure in
Wonga’s computer systems meant over half the
loans were approved, with £3.8 million hitting the
accounts of a network of middlemen. Cash from
their internet accounts was eventually transferred
to one “master” account controlled by those
running the scam.
On Friday, January 29, four of the mules were
sentenced to a total of over 10 years.
Kelvin Okusanya, 31, from Coventry, the only one
of the group convicted of submitting the loans
and receiving the proceeds, was sentenced in his
absence to six years in jail. Police believe he has
fled to Nigeria.
Oluwamuyiwa Fasoranti, 32, of The Hollands,
Feltham, and Sophia Pusey-Carroll, 46, of Byron
Road, Harrow, were jailed for three years and 21
months respectively after being convicted of
money laundering.
Monika Solarz, 29, of Audley Road, Hendon,
received an 18-month sentence after admitting
her role.
Police Staff Investigator Andy Cope said: "This
group of money mules would have been working
in close partnership with the people making the
fraudulent loan applications, together taking
millions of pounds from Wonga and committing
identity crime on an industrial level. Being a
money mule may seem like a relatively harmless
offence, but law enforcement views it very
differently. We are committed to stopping those
middle-men who enable fraud and other crimes
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