Cyber criminals who conned man out of more than $120,000 are jailed

The three men told the unwitting victim to wire the cash in order to claim a fake $27 million prize

A trio of cyber criminals who duped a man into parting with more than $120,000 after telling him he had scooped a $27 million prize have each been sentenced to a year in jail.

The Iraqi victim, whose age was not disclosed in court records, was contacted on Facebook last September and told he had won the substantial cash sum from a local bank.

He then agreed to wire $123,200 for what he was told was legal fees to process the transaction, Dubai Criminal Court heard.

He later met with the Nigerian tricksters near to a five-star hotel in Dubai to collect his winnings and was shown a large sum of US dollar bills that were stamped.

As part of the plot, he was told the notes would not be accepted as legal tender unless the stamps were removed, with the gang using a mystery liquid to remove the mark.

“The men used some cleaning liquid to remove the stamps and told me they needed more money to buy more of this liquid,” said the man, who at this point grew suspicious and alerted police.

Officers told him to set up another meeting with one of the fraudsters, where police were on hand to arrest him.

Once in custody, the man revealed the location of his accomplices, who were tracked down and arrested.

One of the men was found in possession of five suitcases packed with fake dollar and Euro notes.

The offenders, aged 41, 44 and 50, were convicted of counterfeiting and fraudulently obtaining $123,200 at Dubai Criminal Court on Tuesday.

All three men, who were jointly fined Dh200,000, will be deported after serving their prison terms.