Syndicate recruited people to open bank accounts to receive scam proceeds

Timothy Solomon Patrick, 36, has admitted to orchestrating a scheme that involved recruiting individuals, including his own father, to open bank accounts which were then used to receive over $1.3 million in scam proceeds.

Patrick pleaded guilty in court on March 21st to charges including conspiracy to deal with the benefits of criminal conduct. His father, Patrick Lourdasamy, 64, and a family friend, Kamaraj Gopal Krishnan, 53, also pleaded guilty to similar charges related to handling ill-gotten funds. The case involving a fourth individual, Daniel Lars Stevenson, 40, is still pending.

The prosecution, led by Deputy Public Prosecutor Jason Chua, revealed that in 2017 or 2018, Patrick met a man named “Harry Turner” at a Boat Quay pub. Turner, also known as “Manny,” portrayed himself as a consultant seeking individuals with expertise in e-commerce to provide “consultancy services” to his clients in the financial sector.

Patrick learned that the scheme involved recruiting “consultants” to establish sole proprietorships and open bank accounts. Turner assured Patrick that he would arrange fund transfers into these accounts and provide supporting documentation. The consultants were instructed to withdraw the funds, retain 3% as commission, and pass the remaining amount to Patrick. Patrick, in turn, would take 2% and forward the balance to Turner’s associates in Singapore.

Patrick recruited his father, Kamaraj, and Stevenson into the scheme. Kamaraj established Frontier Global Trade & Consultancy and opened a corresponding bank account. Patrick assisted his father in setting up Premier International Trade & Consultancy, with Lourdasamy opening a bank account for the business. Stevenson established two companies, Freja Global Trade & Consultancy and Inter-Trade Global Associates, and opened bank accounts for them.

In 2019, two Australian victims of an investment scam transferred nearly $913,000 to Premier’s bank account in twelve transactions. Additionally, over $63,000 was transferred to Frontier’s account, and more than $338,000 was deposited into an account belonging to Inter-Trade. According to DPP Chua, these funds were ultimately dissipated.

Lourdasamy admitted to suspecting something irregular when Premier began receiving substantial sums of money. However, he chose to ignore his concerns and treat his share of the money as “passive income.” Kamaraj, who was unaware of the purpose of the funds received by Frontier, did not question Patrick or Turner about it. Notably, no written contracts defined the roles or responsibilities of the “consultants.”

Patrick himself claimed to be unaware of Turner’s true identity and did not attempt to verify it.

In April 2019, Patrick and Stevenson received recall requests from a bank linked to Freja’s account, prompting them to discuss their concerns. DPP Chua emphasized that Patrick was aware of the suspicious nature of their arrangement with Turner and knew that their earnings were “too good to be true.” In a WhatsApp message, Patrick suggested closing Freja before further issues arose, acknowledging the unsustainable nature of the scheme and the potential for victims to demand their money back.

In July 2019, nearly $280,000 was withdrawn from Inter-Trade’s bank account. The following month, the bank requested supporting documentation from Stevenson. Patrick and Stevenson then conspired to submit fabricated documents, including a fake payment voucher, to deceive the bank.

Patrick, Lourdasamy, and Kamaraj are scheduled to be sentenced on March 26th.

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