Monday court round-up — Crypto-scam arrest and more time to pay

A Dundee man has been charged with involvement in a £9 million cryptocurrency fraud.

Tyler Buchanan, 22, is accused of being part of a hacking group that carried out a sophisticated scam to access the personal financial information of thousands of people.

He and four others are alleged to have sent phishing text messages to victims’ mobile phones warning their accounts would be deactivated.

The links in the SMS messages directed them to websites – which looked legitimate – requesting personal log-in information.

It is alleged the hackers used the data to access cryptocurrency accounts and steal £9 million worth of virtual currency.

Buchanan was arrested in Spain earlier this year and is in custody facing extradition to the US on charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.

The other men charged are from the US.

If convicted, each defendant would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire fraud, up to five years for conspiracy count, and a mandatory two-year consecutive prison sentence for aggravated identity theft.

Buchanan would face up to 20 years in prison for the wire fraud charge as well.

‘Fat predator’

A “fat predator” who forced his way into a woman’s home and marched her to a Dundee cashpoint is facing years in prison after also being found guilty of rape and sexual assault. Hugh Reid, 51, was found guilty of the crimes at the High Court in Stirling, at the end of a three day trial.

Twice drink-drove

An ex-soldier found lying in a lay-by after crashing his brother’s car into a field – just days after he was caught drink-driving – has been banned from the road for four-and-a-half years.

Scott Inglis was under the influence when he steered the Mercedes Benz off the A85 Crieff Road, narrowly missing a tree.

The 29-year-old abandoned the vehicle but was later spotted by a member of the public collapsed at the roadside nearby.

Perth Sheriff Court heard Inglis had been caught the week before driving a different car while nearly double the alcohol limit.

Inglis, of Primrose Place, Perth, returned to the dock for sentencing having previously pled guilty to driving dangerously and without insurance on April 25.

He also admitted being behind the wheel while unfit to drive through drink or drugs.

And he pled guilty to drinking while driving on Perth’s Long Causeway with excess alcohol (34.8mics/ 22).

Solicitor David Holmes, defending, said his client had had to leave the army following an injury and would benefit from social work and army after-care group support.

Inglis was placed on supervision for 12 months and ordered to carry out 270 hours unpaid work as a direct alternative to custody and disqualified for 54 months.

Breach of trust

The former boss of Crieff community trust has been jailed after admitting stealing tens of thousands of pounds from a theatre company that launched the careers of A-list stars like Paulo Nutini and James McAvoy. David McCann, 62, used the funds from PACE theatre in Paisley to shore up his personal finances. At Paisley Sheriff Court, he admitted embezzling £75,000 over a near-four-year period.

Jealous rage

A Forfar man’s jealousy surrounding his wife’s Screwfix colleagues descended into violence.

Erik Scampion, 36, previously pled guilty to engaging in a course of abusive behaviour at a hearing at Forfar Sheriff Court.

Fiscal depute Sam Craib explained that after Scampion was caught messaging another woman during lockdown, he became anxious his wife would retaliate and became jealous when she received social media notifications.

The woman began working for Screwfix in 2022 and attended a work event in London in September this year.

Days after she returned home, Scampion kicked off when she got a notification from a male colleague.

After an argument, Scampion followed the woman into a bedroom and demanded to know who it was, before grabbing her wrist, twisting her arm and causing her to fall to the floor.

After being told to leave, he called her a “f***ing liar” and added: “It’s your playing the feminine card.”

Scampion admitted repeatedly and excessively contacting the woman, swearing, making derogatory remarks and seizing her to her injury between September and October 2024.

He was fined £470 and made the subject of a three year non-harassment order.

Killed couple

A speeding driver who killed a holiday-ing Fife couple in a horrific head-on smash is behind bars. George Murphy, 55, caused the crash after overtaking three vehicles and then trying to get past a bus on the A85 in Argyll on March 31 2023. Martin and Josephine Cousland, from Anstruther, died in the collision.

Time running out

A benefits cheat caught doing daily 5k runs while claiming she was too sick to work has been given extra time to repay the money.

Annette Bond claimed nearly £70,000 of disability aid, telling the Department of Work and Pensions she had lost the power in her left leg and needed a walking stick to get around.

She was secretly filmed by fraud investigators going on early morning jogs around her Perthshire home.

Bond was jailed for two years in May following a trial at Perth Sheriff Court and her sentence was later cut to 18 months on appeal.

Now out of prison, Bond is on a home detention curfew until February, meaning she must stay at her address at Shielhill Park, Stanley, between 7.15pm to 7.15am each night.

The 50-year-old returned to the dock on Thursday and asked for an extra six months to pay the outstanding amount of just over £67,000.

Solicitor Linda Clark, defending, said: “Now that she is at her liberty she has been making initial enquiries about securing a loan.”

Sheriff William Wood granted the exension but told Ms Clark: “Make sure Ms Bond is aware that there can be no further extensions.”

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