Couple jailed for stealing data of 100 TfL employees in 'worst ever' fraud
A husband and wife who stole the personal data of more than a hundred TfL workers and claimed false tax rebates worth £650k have been jailed. Luciana and Femi Akanbi's fraud was described by a judge as the 'worst ever' data breach in Transport for London's history.
A court heard Luciana Akanbi, 38, worked in HR for the capital's transport company and accessed her colleagues' private, personal information. Prosecutors said she and her husband, 51-year-old Femi Akanbi, used the passport number, national insurance numbers and bank details of 40 TfL employees to submit 139 false tax rebate claims to HMRC.
Woolwich Crown Court heard the fraud, carried out between September 2021 and January 2022, led to a loss of £433,000 from the public purse. The pair, who live in Dartford, have now been jailed for three years and nine months each for their part in the sophisticated fraud.
Jailing the pair, who are both Nigerian nationals, Judge David Miller said: "TfL suffered their worst ever data breach. It meant they had to change their systems.
"It affected their morale, I am told, and staff performance. You acquired and used the personal details of 40 employees in relation to making the claims for tax rebates, but accessed [the details of] 107 [employees].
"There were 139 claims in respect of 40 employees by self-assessment accounts being set up by you and others, using 38 computer devices from your own home and others. The effect was that there were 139 claims for tax rebates totalling just under £649,000.
"The money lost to HMRC amounted to just over £433,000. That money was almost instantly dissipated in a complex money laundering scheme."
Prosecutor Andrew Evans told the court the Akanbis had unlawfully used TfL employees' data to make their false tax rebate claims. "The fraud was sophisticated in nature, required significant planning and involved a large number of victims," he said.
"[Luciana Akanbi's] fellow colleagues were subjected to additional checks and procedures that lowered morale and created distrust. Mr Evans added that, following her arrest, mum-of-three Luciana Akanbi suggested to HMRC that her husband's cousin, who works in the IT industry, might have been responsible for accessing the TfL data, in an attempt to divert blame from herself.
He also told the court that Femi Akanbi was an 'important conduit' between the information sourced by his wife that facilitated fraudulent claims. Mr Evans explained Mr Akanbi's gambling addiction had landed the family in financial trouble after the Covid pandemic, when he had been hospitalised with the virus.
Detailing the offending, HHJ Miller said: "This is a fraud whereby the personal records and national insurance numbers, bank details and passport numbers of employees of TfL were accessed by you, Luciana Akanbi. You had been employed [by TfL] since 2017.
"By 2021, you were a business service call advisor. You had access to TfL's systems and personal records.
"107 personal records were accessed. These were later used by both of you and others to claim tax rebates from HMRC."
HHJ Miller said £66,000 was paid into Femi Akanbi's bank account and £16,000 into Luciana's, but added: "I am quite satisfied your gains were other than that. You were jointly responsible for not only the intended loss but the actual loss to the public purse.
"Your role, Luciana Akanbi, was that as a trusted employee with access to this data, you abused the trust of your employers. Mrs Akanbi was under pressure from you, [Femi Akanbi].
"You are equally culpable for the abuse of trust at her place of work. I have described how information was harvested and the complex dissipation of the money.
"You two were at the epicentre and this fraud was only possible because you, Luciana Akanbi, had access to this personal, private information. You, Luciana Akanbi, had been colleagues with some of these people who were extremely badly let down.
"That is damaging; to have your credit ratings impacted, to deal with HMRC and to have to rearrange your finances. There was immense damage to third parties.
"Both of you have worked hard to look after your children. You were under financial pressure and [Femi Akanbi] took to gambling.
"You fell foul to that addiction. Over £50,000 was paid into different gambling accounts.
"In both of your cases, the sentence is one of three years and nine months. You may be liable for deportation, but that is not for me."
HHJ Miller added that the money they'd fraudulently obtained was 'gone', saying he would make no order as "I am told you have no means". "I cannot get blood from a stone," he commented.
Richard Mullings, Head of Counter-fraud & Corruption at TfL, said: "We take any cases of fraud extremely seriously and welcome the court's sentencing of these two individuals. This crime meant that hundreds of thousands of pounds was unable to be reinvested elsewhere to the wider public benefit, and involved working closely with HM Revenue and Customs to secure a successful prosecution.
"We are also grateful to the victims for their support throughout this case, and for reporting it so it could be investigated. We immediately notified the Information Commissioner's Office and can reassure those working for us that we have since introduced a range of measures to further tighten up access to personal staff data and ensure this cannot happen again."
A spokesperson for HMRC added: "This should act as a warning to others that we can and do act against anyone who tries to undermine the tax system and steal money that funds public services. We'd urge anyone with information about any type of tax fraud to report it to HMRC on GOV.UK."