A man has been jailed for his role in a £1 million credit card fraud scheme.
Philip Lam was due to be sentenced in March 2021 but failed to appear at court while co-accused Steven Noone received four months and nine years.
The 31-year-old, of no fixed abode, absconded to Spain where he was finally arrested in Marbella last month and subsequently extradited back to the UK.
He was collected by Merseyside Police at Gatwich Airport on Wednesday and finally sentenced to four years and 11 months behind bars on Thursday.
Lam and Noone had actively traded in and used stolen credit cards in order to purchase goods or services on behalf of third parties who contacted them.
The pair used WhatsApp, ICQ and social media in an operation that harvested details from thousands of cards later used to book flights, hotels and goods.
Money generated by the scheme was then laundered by Lam through various gambling accounts and a ‘mule’ bank account in order to conceal payments.
Some of the cash was converted into BitCoin while Lam and his family flew on a number of international flights, paying for journeys with compromised credit cards.
Suspicions first arose when Jet2 noticed over 20 flights booked online without the knowledge of a legitimate card holder between May and September 2016.
Lam and Noone were arrested and their computers seized on July 4, 2017. Noone’s was found to contain the details of more than 1,100 cards in the UK and US.
Detective Constable Emma Singleton said: “In total the fraud was valued at over £1,000,000, and involved the complex use of various payment and money laundering methods.
“They stole credit card details, and spent money they simply had no right to spend. As well as taking the cash of the legitimate owners of those cards, they also took money from people who bought holidays from them in good faith.
“Many of those people then found that payments had ultimately been rejected and hotels demanded payment they believed they had already made or goods they believed they had purchased were never delivered.
“The trail of victims they left in their wake was significant, from individuals to flight and holiday operators, so it is very satisfying to see that justice has been secured for all those affected.
“They committed the offences in order to fund their lavish lifestyles, enjoying expensive holidays literally at the expense of other people.
“It is very clear that they had no regard for the impact of their actions on both the businesses they were defrauding and the people whose credit card details they stole.
“While Noone began his prison sentence, Lam thought he could evade justice. He was wrong. Our enquiries led us to Marbella and, with the assistance of the NCA, he was arrested and brought back to face the courts.
“We use all available powers, working with law enforcement agencies internationally, and will not stop looking for wanted people, wherever they may be.”