A fraudster who cheated elderly victims in a lottery scam - among other crimes - has been jailed 15 years after he fled the UK after money laundering offences were committed.
Jack Mayer, 56, of no fixed abode, appeared before the Old Bailey recently after being extradited from Italy.
He fled this country in 2011 before being sentenced for his role in a £1.7m money laundering scheme. He was ordered to serve a six-year prison sentence imposed on him following his conviction in 2013.
City of London Police began an investigation into his crimes in 2011 after suspicious banking activity uncovered a scheme involving more than £1.7m, obtained through a payment diversion fraud targeting a company bank account in Switzerland.
Investigators found that Mr Mayer had used forged documents, including falsified bank statements and payslips, to open business bank accounts that were later used to receive the stolen funds.
Digital forensic examinations revealed that genuine bank statements had been altered to falsely show salary payments and bank balances worth millions of dollars before being submitted to a bank as part of the account opening process.
Mr Mayer transferred substantial sums of money through a network of UK and overseas accounts. Officers uncovered altered passports, forged documents, manipulated financial records and evidence of multiple false identities linked to the investigation.
Investigators also later recovered £55,000 in cash from a safety deposit box linked to the case.
Mr Mayer was bailed to attend his trial at the Central Criminal Court in 2013 in connection with the money laundering operation. However, he fled the UK days before the trial started and was convicted in his absence. He was sentenced to 6 years imprisonment.
After leaving Britain, he travelled to France and later the Caribbean.
In 2014, he was arrested in the Dominican Republic, extradited and convicted in a US court of further fraud offences that involved a lottery scam targeting elderly victims.
In the lottery scam victims were falsely told they had won substantial prizes and were persuaded to send money to cover fees and taxes. In the US he was sentenced to 15-30 years but following an unexpected early release in 2025, he returned to Europe.
In June 2026, he was arrested in Milan and extradited to the UK, where he has now been ordered to serve the six-year prison sentence imposed for his crimes.
Detective Inspector Kate Duff, from the Fraud Operations team at the City of London Police, said: "Jack Mayer spent more than a decade attempting to avoid justice after fleeing the UK following his conviction.
"He used forged financial documents to help facilitate the movement of more than £1.7 million in criminal funds through multiple accounts and jurisdictions.
"Fifteen years on from the original offending, he has finally been brought back before the courts. This sends a clear message that if you carry out criminal activity, we will find you and bring you to justice.”
The City of London Police is responsible for policing the City and in addition holds national responsibility for economic crime, including cyber crime and fraud. It hosts Report Fraud (the national cyber crime and fraud reporting service).