A man who allowed his bank account to be used to steal more than £4,000 in two separate scams has been ordered to repay almost £5,000.

Mitica Agigeanu, 39, of St Peters Road, Great Yarmouth, appeared at Great Yarmouth Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, June 8, where he pleaded guilty to two counts of entering into or being concerned in the acquisition, use or control of criminal property.

He was sentenced to 200 hours of community service and was ordered to pay a total of £4,798 in compensation to the two victims.

The court heard how Agigeanu’s bank account details were given to two victims by a bogus caller who telephoned them on September 3, 2020, claiming to be from Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and the Royal Courts of Justice.

The caller said they owed money following a tax miscalculation and they risked arrest and a fine of £75,000 if they didn’t pay up.

Believing the telephone calls were genuine, the victims – a 37-year-old man and a 45-year-old man - paid £2,906 and £1,892 into the false HMRC bank account which belonged to Agigeanu.

The court heard how Agigeanu’s bank account showed regular and legitimate activity until April 19, 2019, but then lay dormant until August 31, 2020.

It was then used from August 31 to September 5, 2020.

Transactions stopped again after that.

PC David Moran, who worked on the investigation, said: “Agigeanu may not have benefitted financially from these scams but he was happy to hand over the details of a bank account he no longer used, no doubt in return for money, for someone else to use to trick people out of thousands of pounds.

“It’s right that he held accountable for his part in this crime, and I hope it offers some reassurance that we take this type of fraud very seriously, and will act, investigate and prosecute anybody involved in stealing money from others.”