Suspended prison sentence over bank fraud

AN IPSWICH man who allowed hundreds of pounds which were fraudulently removed from customers’ bank accounts to be paid into his accounts has been given a suspended prison sentence.

Janis Knesis, 21, of Star Lane, Ipswich, had denied three charges of entering into a money laundering arrangement, but was found guilty after a trial at Ipswich Crown Court earlier this month.

Sentence was adjourned until yesterday when Knesis was given a six-month prison sentence suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 120 hours of unpaid work in the community.

During his trial, the court heard that on December 10, 2010, a total of £1,940 was removed from the accounts of three Halifax and Bank of Scotland customers and paid into two Lloyds TSB Easy Saver accounts which had been opened that day in Knesis’s name.

The money had then been transferred into another account held by Knesis before being taken out in the next few days in cash or debit card transactions.

Knesis claimed that someone he worked with had asked him to help him out by allowing him to transfer money through his account to buy a car.

Knesis said he had believed everything was “above board” and had given the man his bank details because he trusted him.

He claimed the other man had offered to pay him £100 for his trouble but he had refused to accept any money from him.