Belfast man charged over £1.5m bank fraud targeting customers is to be released from custody
A Belfast man charged with carrying out a £1.5m banking fraud is to be released from custody, the High Court ruled today.
John Cartmill was granted bail after a judge heard he acted under duress by allegedly targeting customers on social media to take funds from a series of financial institutions.
Mr Justice McAlinden was told the 45-year-old has undergone “transformative change” since the scam was uncovered.
Cartmill, of Coolnasilla Park West, faces a total of 63 charges, including multiple counts of fraud by false representation, converting criminal property and supplying a credit card for fraud.
He is accused of defrauding banks including Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Tesco, Bank of Ireland and Metro Bank, along with a range of their individual and business clients on a range of dates during 2023 and 2024.
He is accused of defrauding banks including Barclays, HSBC, Santander, Tesco, Bank of Ireland and Metro Bank, along with a range of their individual and business clients on a range of dates during 2023 and 2024.
Contact was said to have been made with some customers after they posted on X, formerly Twitter, to express dissatisfaction with their financial institution.
Cartmill allegedly registered and created email addresses to resemble the bank’s genuine domain, posing as a bank official to communicate with victims.
A freephone number was also deployed to change contact numbers on their accounts and divert details to a device under his control.
He then received a one-time passcode to facilitate transactions, according to the prosecution case.
Police claimed Cartmill is well known to police and financial institutions, having amassed 159 previous convictions including 40 for deception, 12 counts of forgery and 86 fraud offences.
It was disclosed at a previous hearing that in banking circles he is known as “the threat actor” or “the Irish actor”.
In September 2023 the PSNI was alerted to frauds which resembled the similar modus operandi.
An investigating detective disclosed that a series of victims were identified, along with £1.5m in losses to the banks.
Further attempts to defraud another £700,000 were said to have been prevented by the institutions targeted.
Mobile phone numbers allegedly used to contact customers were cross-referenced and connected to Cartmill.
Part of the scam also involved using online IP addresses linked to Spain, where the defendant is believed to have been located at relevant periods.
Cartmill has also been charged with benefit fraud related to the enhanced Personal Independent Payment allowances for daily living and mobility needs he has been receiving since September 2020.
He claimed to suffer from conditions which severely impacted his quality of life and left him unable to socialise, contact other people or make journeys unaided.
But police claim he played an active role in the running of a delivery company business, and was on the insurance policy for a number of fleet vehicles.
Evidence of up to 27 flights Cartmill undertook between August 2021 and February 2024 also forms part of the investigation, including passport stamps for the Maldives and Dubai.
Further charges relate to flight bookings which caused losses of £2,580 to Cartmill’s credit card company.
The internet and phone rackets to siphon off funds from a large number of victims and banks were said to have been carried out on behalf of a larger criminal network.
Defence representatives indicated Cartmill has already made full admissions to the allegations.
It was stressed that he was initially arrested last year for the offences and spent 11 months on police bail.
Cartmill’s barrister, Sean Devine, submitted: ““There was an element of duress and he wasn’t the primary beneficiary of the offending.”
Counsel told the court that his client now feels relief that it has all come to an end.
“He was the subject of threat messages, delivered by police, so there is an acceptance that in the background he was under pressure from more sinister criminal elements,” Mr Devine said.
With Cartmill also facing other criminal proceedings, the barrister argued that he could be safely released at this stage.
“His fate is finely balanced and the court will no doubt consider carefully whether there has been evidence of transformative change on his behalf,” he added.
Granting bail, Mr Justice McAlinden banned Cartmill from contacting any victims or co-accused.
He ordered the defendant to police on a daily basis as part of the release terms. Ends