Moment phone fraudster who stole £200,000 crypto cash and splashed out on gold grills, plush apartment and luxury Dubai trips is arrested at Heathrow

A man who stole nearly £200,000 worth of cryptocurrency and spent it on gold-plated grills and luxury holidays to Dubai was finally arrested at Heathrow.

Ajay Shinjin, of Canary Wharf in London, exploited SIM-swap technology to take nearly £200,000 from multiple victims' cryptocurrency accounts, using it to fund a lavish lifestyle and a high-end apartment.

The 25-year-old was sentenced today at Inner London Crown Court to two and a half years in jail.

Shinjin, also known as AJ Marley Cruz, was first arrested at his flat in 2021 and was later re-arrested at Heathrow Airport in October 2023 upon returning to the UK from Dubai, after further evidence came to light.

Police are seen on bodycam footage approaching Shinjin and handcuffing him, before putting a coat over his hands.

He was then charged with one count of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation and one count of transferring criminal property, and pleaded guilty at Inner London Crown Court on September 28.

Shinjin's crypto theft comes amid a rise in SIM-swapping fraud, which has seen scammers access people's bank accounts, crypto accounts and other valuable apps by obtaining their phone number.

The scam involves fraudsters remotely transferring a person's mobile phone number onto a SIM card that they hold, so that they can receive all calls and texts.

From there they can use two-factor authentication (2FA) codes that are sent by text to access bank and savings accounts.

In early November 2021, phone company BT saw unauthorised activity affecting its systems, through which customer telephone numbers had been transferred to SIM cards controlled by criminals - a practice known as 'SIM-swapping'.

With a phone number under their control, criminals were able to receive one-time passcodes (OTPs) via text messages to then gain access to a victim's bank accounts or crypto wallets to access their money.

During the course of their subsequent investigation, BT identified devices used to receive ported customer telephone numbers.

Each of these phones were eSIM enabled and had two IMEI numbers. Data provided by BT led police to identify a number of suspects - including Shinjin, who was attributed to four SIM swap devices.

The investigation identified that the victims associated with the SIM swap incidents had all reported crimes occurring within the first week of November 2021.

Of the victims identified, one had around £40,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen on November 2, 2021, of which Shinjin received roughly £27,000 into his personal crypto account.

A second victim had around £17,000 cryptocurrency stolen between November 5 and 7 in 2021, which was later found in Shinjin's personal crypto wallet.

A third victim had approximately £8,000 taken from his Coinbase account on November 3, 2021, which Shinjin facilitated the theft of and then sent the money elsewhere.

Finally, a fourth victim had approximately £130,000 worth of cryptocurrency stolen between November 6 and 7 that same year, which Shinjin also facilitated the theft of.

During his police interviews, Shinjin provided no comment to all questions put to him.

Detective Constable Simon Ardeman, from the City of London Police, said: 'This was a complex and calculated fraud that caused significant financial harm to a number of victims.

'By deliberating exploiting SIM-swap technology, Shinjin was able to gain access to cryptocurrency accounts and steal nearly £200,000 from multiple victims' accounts.

'SIM-swap fraud is a sophisticated and increasingly concerning form of offending, and this case demonstrates the devastating consequences it can have for victims.

'This conviction sends a clear message that those who use technology to commit fraud will be brought to justice.