Sibtain Hussain, 32, from Bradford, has been jailed for four a half years for fraud and 12 months for money laundering at Leeds Crown Court after he targeted prospective international applicants to UK universities, persuading them to transfer money to his bank accounts after a data breach at Lancaster University.  

Hussain demanded payments from applicants for ‘proof of financial capability, student services, and accommodation deposits’ using a string of limited companies he registered at Companies House from 2016 onwards. His multiple credit cards (above) were taken out in the names of the various front companies, including Student Digs Management Ltd and Student Assist Management Ltd, the former dissolved in 2021.

Investigators from the National Crime Agency surmised that the scale of the operation was extensive, with ‘a potential to £493,000 in illegal profits’ from the fraud if banks had not intervened quickly to stop many payments.

In a flurry of activity from 2016 onwards, Hussain created multiple phone numbers, email addresses, aliases and bank accounts to run the scheme in a bid to avoid detection, the NCA said.

In 2018, Lancaster University’s internal computer system was subject to an unauthorised access breach and applicant data was stolen. Hussain, who had began studying at the university in 2017, gained access to the stolen data and used it to perpetrate the fraud.

Hussain used the information to persistently target over 200 individuals by phone and email demanding sums up to £3,200. Over £48,000 was sent by 23 students as a result of the scam, but a large majority of payments were blocked by banks, the NCA said.

The scam first came to light when Lancaster University reported the data breach to the NCA in July 2019 after receiving reports that applicants had been targeted. The NCA subsequently launched an investigation with the university’s ongoing assistance.

Officers identified and spoke to several of the targeted applicants including those who had made payments. They went on to identify multiple links between Hussain and various accounts associated with the fraud.

Hussain was arrested in July 2019 in Bradford, and two mobile phones and a wallet were seized which contained evidence linking him to the crimes.

Hussain initially denied the charges but later pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court in October 2025, before sentencing on 9 January.