A Lynn man has been ordered to pay £1 back for his role in an organised crime group which made money through fake online sales.
And the group as a whole will repay nearly £380,000 after the scams.
Aleksandrs Lisens, 36, Aleksejs Fedins, 38, and Vadims Kuzmins, 36, who ran the group in Wisbech, opened false bank accounts and took control of the accounts of vulnerable people in Latvia.
They organised thousands of false online sales before requesting refunds through a web-based payment platform between 2017 and 2020. These refunds were then paid into the fraudulent bank accounts.
Fedins was jailed in October 2021, with Kuzmins and Lisens sentenced in January this year.
On Monday this week, at a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at Peterborough Crown Court, the group were ordered to repay a total of £377,700.02 to the online payment platform.
Lisens, of Sir Lewis Street in Lynn, was ordered to pay a nominal amount of £1 due to a lack of assets. Should this not be paid, he will receive a one-month prison sentence.
Fedins, of Lime Avenue, Wisbech, was ordered to pay an initial £16,096.72, comprising £900 cash on arrest, a further £196.72 and a £15,000 share of a property.
If not paid within three months, he will receive a seven-month prison sentence.
Kuzmins, of Rowan Close, Wisbech, was ordered to pay an initial £1,607.77, comprising money from his account as well as a vehicle. If not paid within three months, he will receive a two-month prison sentence.
All three will have asset markers placed on them for any possible future recovery of funds.
DC Andy Macdonald said: “Tackling fraud is a force priority and we will do everything we can, not just to prosecute fraudsters, but to get back the criminally-obtained money.
“I am delighted the court has taken this step to get these three criminals to re-pay all the money they fraudulently obtained.
“We will always look to disrupt criminal gangs who cause misery to so many people.”
In October 2021, Fedins was jailed for three years and nine months at Peterborough Crown Court, having pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud, possessing articles for use in frauds and being concerned in money laundering.
In January, at Peterborough Crown Court, both Lisens and Kuzmins were sentenced. Lisens received a 12-month community order, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and possession of articles for use in frauds, which will lie on file.
Kuzmins was handed 34 weeks in prison, suspended for 15 months, having pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and found guilty of possession of articles for use in frauds, for which he received no separate penalty.
