A London court has sentenced 25-year-old Ajay Shinjin to two and a half years in prison for his part in a SIM-swap fraud operation that stole almost £200,000 worth of cryptocurrency from victims in 2021. Shinjin, who is also known as AJ Marley Cruz, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and transferring criminal property.

The case centered on a series of phone-number takeovers affecting BT customers in early November 2021. Investigators said the attackers used the compromised numbers to intercept security codes sent by text message, allowing them to access victims’ accounts and move crypto assets.

How the fraud worked

Police described the case as a complex and deliberate SIM-swap scheme. In this type of fraud, a victim’s mobile number is moved to a SIM card controlled by criminals. Once that happens, the fraudsters can receive one-time passcodes that banks, exchanges, and other platforms send by SMS as part of account security checks.

According to the case outlined in court, BT detected unauthorized activity on its systems in early November 2021 after customer phone numbers were transferred to SIM cards linked to the offenders. The telecom company then traced devices used to receive those numbers, and that data helped police identify multiple suspects. Shinjin was linked to four of the devices, investigators said.

Losses across four victims

The thefts cited in the case added up to nearly £200,000 in cryptocurrency. One victim lost around £40,000 on November 2, 2021, and police said about £27,000 of that amount was sent to Shinjin’s personal crypto account. A second victim lost roughly £17,000, which investigators said also ended up in his wallet.

Police further alleged that Shinjin helped steal about £8,000 from a third victim’s Coinbase account and about £130,000 from a fourth victim. In total, authorities said he received more than £44,000 from the proceeds of the fraud.

Spending and arrest timeline

Prosecutors said Shinjin spent the money he received on luxury trips to Dubai, a high-end apartment in Canary Wharf, and gold-plated teeth grills. Those details were cited as part of the proceeds he obtained from the stolen cryptocurrency.

He was first arrested at his flat in 2021. Later, after investigators said additional evidence had emerged, he was arrested again at Heathrow Airport in October 2023 when he returned from Dubai. Police said he made no comment during interviews.

Sentence and next confirmed point

Inner London Crown Court handed Shinjin a prison sentence of two and a half years. The City of London Police said the case highlights the harm caused by SIM-swap attacks, which can give criminals control over accounts protected by text-based verification.

Detective Constable Simon Ardeman said the offense showed how serious and damaging SIM-swap fraud can be for victims. The confirmed outcome so far is Shinjin’s sentencing after his guilty plea, with the court disposing of the charges tied to his role in the scheme.

Source: decrypt.co