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AUSTRALIAN IMPRISONED FOR ONLINE SCAM |
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A Sydney man was imprisoned for more than five years for duping people into sending him millions of dollars in a global Internet ruse known as the Nigerian scam.
Nick Marinellis pleaded guilty in the New South Wales District Court to 10 counts of fraud for taking part in the scam promising people millions from Nigerian bank accounts in return for an "administration fee."
Prosecutors said Marinellis fleeced his victims of 5 million Australian dollars, or $3.8 million dollars.
Judge Barry Mahoney sentenced Marinellis to five years and three months in prison and ordered him held for a minimum four years and four months, calling Marinellis´ scam "complicated and devious."
Culprits in the Nigerian scam typically present themselves as people who need access to a Western bank account in order to transfer a large sum of money out of a politically troubled country. They promise a cut of the money but ask for a small upfront cost before the larger sum can be transferred.
PERSONAL INSOLVENCY CASES SOAR
Personal insolvencies in England and Wales leapt by 29% in the year to the end of
September to a record total of 33,588.
These figures were the highest since the Department of Trade and Industry began using the current methodology for calculating insolvencies since 1995.
Of the 31% increase in bankruptcies over the same period last year, the numbers of people petitioning for their own bankruptcy increased by 40%. Both sets of figures relate to the third quarter of this year compared with the third quarter last year.
Almost two-thirds of bankruptcies were voluntary rather than initiated by creditors which suggests bankruptcies may be seem a more acceptable way of dealing with debt difficulties.
This is no doubt underlined with the introduction of the Enterprise Act allowing bankrupts to be discharged in one year rather than three.
However, it may be the rise in bankruptcies may not be so much to do with a change in the law but by individuals over extending themselves after being tempted by low interest rates and taking on too much debt. The excessive levels of consumer credit card debt cannot be ignored.
In Scotland, with the introduction of the Debt Arrangement Scheme, individuals, including sole traders, will have the opportunity of repaying a proportion of their debts if they have surplus income available for this purpose. This will, of course, be an alternative to bankruptcy but for practical purposes will only be available to those in a position to repay a substantial proportion of their debt over, as yet, an undetermined period of time.
Should you have any questions in relation to credit control or debt recovery issues please visit our website at www.debtscotland.com where you will find a wealth of free resources.
Stephen Cowan
Yuill & Kyle
Debt Recovery and Debt Control Lawyers
scowan@yuill-kyle.co.uk: 0141 572 4251
www.debtscotland.com
www.ykcreditcheck.co.uk
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