Flash fraudster, 33, who used a posh accent to dupe victims on the phone in Britain's biggest ever cyber scam must pay back £2m or face a further eight years in jail
- Feezan Hameed Choudhary personally stole at least £6.5 million in total
- He would flaunt his stolen wealth with luxury cars and celebrity parties
A flash con-artist, who was at the centre of Britain's biggest ever cyber scam has been ordered to pay back £2 million or spend up to 21 years behind bars.
Feezan Hameed Choudhary, 33, was jailed for 11 years in 2016 for leading a fraudulent enterprise that conned 750 RBS and Lloyds customers out of £113million.
Dubbed 'The Voice', the fraudster would put on Scottish, English and Welsh accents to trick victims out of their hard-earned cash over the phone.
Posing as staff from anti-fraud departments, the gang of hustlers would convince victims to hand over their bank details and would drain their accounts - a scam known as voice phishing, or 'vishing'.
Brazen Choudhary would then splash the stolen millions on parties with pop stars, luxury holidays in Dubai and shopping sprees at high-end stores such as Harrods.
Feezan Hameed Choudhary (pictured) , who was at the centre of Britain's biggest ever cyber scheme, has been ordered by a judge to pay £2 million or face another eight years behind bars
Choudhary spent millions on supercars, Harrods shopping sprees and parties with popstars
The convict, who was based in Glasgow personally sole at least £6.5 million.
A judge has ruled today the crook must repay the £2 million within three months or eight years would be added to his sentence in default.
But Choudhary has only paid back £773,443 and claims he has nothing left.
Prosecutors allege he still has assets, including a property worth more than £1 million in Pakistan and a house in Glasgow worth £103,000.
Andrew Bird, defending, said the value of the Pakistani Rupee had plummeted significantly, and that any assets Hameed does have would be worth less.
He explained the con-artist had been given the opportunity to take part in a documentary being produced by Hello Halo TV.
'He has had an offer from a TV documentary. He might receive £50,000 but they would not pay him directly because they have a policy of not paying criminals. The production company would pay against his order,' he told the court.
'If he had the £1.3 million odd that the prosecution claims that he's got why on earth would he not pay £326,558 to get out of prison?'
Judge Adam Hiddleston ruled that if the £2 million was not paid, an additional eight years would be added to his sentence.
In 2017 two-and-a-half years was added to his original 11-year sentence after he ran an identical scam from behind bars.
With an added eight years for failing to pay back the sum in full, Choudhary could be in jail for up to 21 years.
'The defendant has demonstrated through his evidence that he does have access to hidden assets,' he said.
'I am not satisfied that he demonstrated that which he needed to an adequate standard.'
It is unclear when the fraudster's release date would be, he would serve the extra eight years consecutively after his original 11-year sentence.
Hameed told Southwark Crown Court he has been on a 'spiritual journey' after meeting an Iman whilst behind bars.
Feezan Hameed Choudhary on a Dubai holiday where he posed with a tiger
'It's been nine years. I've lost a lot. I have been on a spiritual journey. Money is not everything. This is not happiness. It's fake happiness,' he said.
'I could have got married and had kids.'
The conman's 'vishing' scam was unearthed in the midst of several police raids in West Midlands and Glasgow.
Prior to his life in jail, the con-artist flaunted his stolen wealth, gloating with social media pictures with exotic tigers, celebrities such as Pakistani pop star Bilal Saeed.
He bragged about how he could pay a team of valets to polish his fleet of custom Porsches.
Hameed also owned several luxury motors including a Bentley and a Lamborghini with the scam making more than £3million a month.
