British visitor jailed after scamming Aucklanders out of $337,700

A visiting Brit who scammed Kiwis out of hundreds of thousands of dollars will not be leaving the country anytime soon.

Jack Dylan Hennessy faces three years and three months behind bars over his involvement in a fake police scam which emerged earlier this year.

The scam involved people being cold called by people posing as police officers under the guise of asking them to assist a "covert police operation".

Victims were conned into withdrawing thousands in cash to be collected in-person by a fake officer.

Twenty-six-year-old Hennessy took $337,700 in cash from Aucklanders.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Bolton, from Auckland City's Financial Crime Unit, said investigators worked quickly to track down the man who had been appearing at victims' front doors.

"A short visit to rip off New Zealanders has turned into a three-year prison sentence," he said.

"Right from the start our investigators were determined to make people aware and put a stop to this offending."

Police acknowledge the sentence handed down in Auckland District Court.

"It sends a message to the offshore organised criminal groups running these operations that we are not a soft target," Detective Senior Sergeant Bolton said.

In August Hennessy pleaded guilty to 27 charges, including 25 counts of obtains by deception.

"A prison sentence is a clear warning to those who may be recruited to be cash couriers by these criminal groups - we'll catch up with you."

Two other men were also facing court proceedings for their alleged roles in the re-emergence of the scam in other parts of the country.

Another UK national remained before the Wellington District Court after his arrest in August.

Meanwhile, a 24-year-old Auckland man was still before the Waitākere District Court on a fraud charge. In August, real police officers from Waitematā District lay in wait for the man after he allegedly came to collect cash from another victim of the scam.

"Confidence scams such as this one impact their victims, who are often vulnerable members of our community," Bolton said. "This has had a devastating financial loss for these victims."

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