R v Stephen Coleman
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Neutral Citation | [2020] NICC 5 |
| Date | 17 February 2020 |
| Court | Crown Court (Northern Ireland) |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2020] NICC 5
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref:
Delivered: 17/2/2020
IN THE CROWN COURT OF NORTHERN IRELAND
SITTING IN BELFAST
________
ICOS 19/110285
REGINA
-v-
STEPHEN COLEMAN
________
His Honour Judge McFarland
[1] This case is one of fourteen cases that have been listed before me for the
purposes of consideration of issuing interim guidance to the Crown Court judiciary
under the Lord Chief Justice’s Programme for Action on Sentencing.
[2] I have heard preliminary oral and written submissions by, and on behalf, of a
number of counsel who appeared on behalf of the prosecution and each of the
defendants.
[3] The cases had been listed together as each of the defendants falls to be dealt
with after their pleas of guilty for offences which have been categorised as “money
mule” offences.
[4] The expression “money mule” is used as a loose description of a person who
facilitates a more sophisticated fraud by assisting in the laundering of the proceeds
of the fraud. The word “mule” has been used for couriers in illegal drug
importation and storage cases and is an apt description as such a defendant’s role is
to protect the main offenders who can be kept at arm’s length from the illegal item,
be it drugs or cash.
[5] Typically, a fraud is perpetrated against a bank account holder. The frauds
can be very sophisticated with fraudsters contacting bank account holders, both
personal and business, and by trickery they are able to extract bank and personal
details so that the criminals can access the victims’ bank accounts, or they can
arrange for the victims to access their own bank accounts. Such methods are often
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