Man Who Helped Scammers Swindle At Least £100m from Victims Jailed
A shocking case of cybercrime has come to a close as Zak Coyne, a 24-year-old man from Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison for his role in enabling scammers to defraud around one million victims in 91 countries.
A Sophisticated Worldwide Criminal Enterprise
Coyne's website, LabHost, was a subscription-based service that allowed over 2,000 scammers to steal at least £100m from unsuspecting victims. The platform, which was co-created by Coyne and a Canadian individual in August 2021, hosted phishing pages – fake versions of 185 major banking, government, and commercial websites, including Amazon, Netflix, Uber, and UK banks.
A Mastermind Behind the Scenes
According to the Crown Prosecution Service, LabHost was "one of the most professional and sophisticated websites in the world for committing online fraud". Coyne, who has an "obsessional interest" in computer programming, received around £200,000 from criminals subscribing to his services, paid for in cryptocurrency he converted to sterling.
A Website That Caused Global Losses
Simon Gurney, prosecuting, told the court that LabHost caused global losses of more than £100m, with £32m coming from the UK alone. He added: "It is likely that the losses caused were substantially greater. The risk of loss occasioned by the frauds committed through LabHost can be measured in multiple billions of pounds."
A Sentencing That Reflects the Scale of the Offending
Judge Jenny Lester-Ashworth described Coyne's actions as "one of the most professional and sophisticated" cases she had ever seen. She also noted that Coyne enjoyed what he was doing, describing him as being "immersed in the criminal underworld operating online".
A Victimless Crime?
Thomas Short, specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "Fraud is far from a victimless crime and the harm caused by Coyne's offending are measured not just in monetary terms, but also in the distress inflicted on countless victims who fell prey to these scams."
A Complex Case of Obsession
Coyne, a father-of-one, was arrested in April 2024 in the departures lounge at Manchester Airport. He admitted two offences of fraud and one of transferring criminal property at an earlier hearing.
Adam Roxborough, defending Coyne, said: "He actually did not give any real thought to the overall scale of what he was enabling. Once he engaged, it became something of an obsession with him."
A Message from the Court
The court's sentencing reflects the gravity of the case and the devastating impact that LabHost had on its victims. As the judge noted, Coyne's actions were not just financially destructive but also emotionally traumatic for those who fell victim to his website.
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