Fraudster pretended to be Halifax police officer and targeted the vulnerable

A fraudster who targeted vulnerable elderly women by pretending to be a police officer has been jailed for five years.
JAILED: Zain Khan,JAILED: Zain Khan,
JAILED: Zain Khan,

Zain Khan, aged 31, of Bradford, was sentenced at Leeds Crown Court today after pleading guilty conspiracy to commit fraud and burglary offences.

Khan was convicted in connection with a number of burglaries which took place between September and October 2017 in the Huddersfield, Halifax and Bradford areas.

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He targeted vulnerable elderly ladies and telephoned them, pretending to be police officers, according to West Yorkshire Police.

Khan persuaded his victims to hand over thousands of pounds worth of gold jewellery by "providing a number of reasons as to why the police were contacting them," the force said.

They said that he told one of his victim’s that her husband had sent money to Syria and that the police needed to secure their money and jewellery.

In some of the incidents, he threatened the victims, telling them they would be arrested if they did not hand over their valuables, police said.

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Detective Inspector Mark Catney, of Kirklees CID, who led the investigation, said: “We are extremely pleased that today Khan has been handed a prison sentence for the crimes he has committed.

“These were despicable crimes, firstly for targeting vulnerable and elderly members of the public, in some cases threatening them if they didn’t comply to their demands and secondly for posing as police officers.

“The investigation into their crimes has been complex and protracted with a number of officers working extremely hard to link across West Yorkshire as many of the incidents were across a number of districts.

“I would like to thank the victims of this case who came forward to report these despicable crimes and I am pleased we have been able to secure justice for them.”

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