Seven Qld victims lose more than $100,000 in cyber fraud

A man involved in a scam that took more than $100,000 from seven Queensland residents, some of them elderly, has been jailed and is likely to lose his visa.

Muhammad Rahman leaves Brisbane Arrest Court. Picture: NewsWire / Sarah Marshall

A Bangladeshi man faces deportation upon release from prison for his role in a scam that stole more than $100,000 from seven Queensland victims, several of whom were elderly.

The court heard the seven-month swindle involved an overseas syndicate calling victims claiming to be employees of Amazon Prime, or from the victim’s bank’s cybersecurity team.

Muhammad Shafquatur Rahman, 33, pleaded guilty to seven counts of fraud in Brisbane District Court on Tuesday for acting as “a middle man” by collecting money in person from the victims and depositing it into various accounts as instructed by the syndicate.

The fraud spanned August 2021 to March 2022 and the victims were aged 57-84. The highest loss was $37,600, another victim gave $23,000, the others paid around $10,000.

The Crown case was that other syndicate members would call the victims pretending to be bank employees or Amazon Prime staff and tell the victims that money had been accidentally deposited into their accounts, and needed to be paid back.

The court heard the caller would arrange for the victims to meet Rahman and pay, with Rahman told to avoid security cameras and use a false name.

Crown prosecutor Dominique Bainbridge said the seven victims lost a combined $109,800, and Rahman received a cut of around $4200 for his part.

“The bulk of the victim impact statements outline not only the financial impact, but also the emotional toll that it has taken on the victims,” she said.

Police got involved when a victim reported the incident in March 2022.

Investigators obtained CCTV footage of Rahman meeting with the victim, which led officers to tracking him down and executing a search warrant the next day.

Ms Bainbridge told the court that officers recovered around $5600 cash taken from the victim who reported the incident and this money was returned to her.

Police also found messages on Rahman’s phone including instructions from the syndicate.

The court heard Rahman’s bridging visa will likely be cancelled.

“He certainly is a person of interest to the Australian Federal Police at this point in time,” Ms Bainbridge said.

The Crown argued Rahman should be sentenced to up to three-and-a-half years’ jail.

Defence barrister Daniel Boddice said Rahman should only get two-and-a-half years behind bars, noting that his client had no criminal history and had offered to immediately pay $18,000 in compensation to the victims.

“He really was a foot soldier for a broader syndicate,” Mr Boddice said.

“And he has essentially put every spare cent he has [from his job as a grocer] into an account with the purpose of reimbursing the victims.”

Rahman also offered to pay the victims an extra $30,000 by March 31, 2025.

“You can’t [buy your way out of prison],” Judge Katarina Prskalo interjected.

“The problem is the quantum and the damage that has been done to these people. We need, particularly now what is happening in society, to deter these types of people from committing these types of scams.”

Judge Prskalo jailed Rahman for two-and-a-half years, but he will be released after six months behind bars and the rest of the sentence will be suspended for three years.

Judge Prskalo also ordered that Rahman’s offered $18,000 compensation be distributed to the victim based on each person’s portion of loss in the overall scam total.

Rahman’s conviction will likely lead to his visa being cancelled and the AFP deporting him to Bangladesh, where he grew up and went to school until coming to Australia in 2016.