SIM-Swap Fraudster Who Fled to Dubai and Bought Gold Grills Jailed

A 25-year-old London man convicted of executing a sophisticated SIM-swap scheme to steal nearly £200,000 in cryptocurrency has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison. Decrypt, Yahoo, Crypto News, and other outlets reported that Ajay Shinjin, also known as AJ Marley Cruz, received his sentence at Inner London Crown Court following a guilty plea entered on September 28.

What led to the arrest of Ajay Shinjin?

In early November 2021, criminals hijacked BT customer phone numbers by transferring them to SIM cards under their control. According to reporting by Yahoo and Crypto News, this tactic allowed the perpetrators to intercept one-time passcodes sent via text message from banks and cryptocurrency platforms. BT successfully traced the eSIM-enabled devices carrying two IMEI numbers that received the ported numbers, which ultimately led police to Shinjin. Investigators linked Shinjin to four separate devices.

Initial police action involved an arrest at Shinjin's flat in Canary Wharf in 2021. Although initially released, Shinjin was re-arrested in October 2023 at Heathrow Airport as he returned from Dubai after further evidence emerged regarding luxury expenditures funded by the scheme.

How much did the victims lose?

The operation targeted multiple individuals across early November 2021, resulting in a total crypto theft of almost £200,000 (approximately $265,000). Reports from Daily Mail and Decrypt detailed the individual losses:

• Victim 1: Lost about £40,000 in crypto on November 2, 2021, with Shinjin receiving approximately £27,000 of the total.
• Victim 2: Lost roughly £17,000 in crypto between November 5 and November 7, 2021.
• Victim 3: Lost about £8,000 from a Coinbase account on November 3, 2021.
• Victim 4: Lost about £130,000 between November 6 and November 7, 2021.

In total, Shinjin personally received more than £44,000 of the illicit proceeds, funding trips to Dubai and purchases including gold grills.

What are officials saying about SIM-swap fraud?

Detective Constable Simon Ardeman of the City of London Police stated that SIM-swap fraud represents a sophisticated and increasingly concerning form of crime with devastating consequences for victims. Ardeman noted that the complex and calculated fraud caused significant financial harm and emphasized that the conviction demonstrates that individuals utilizing technology to commit fraud will face justice.

Mark Birchall, staff cybersecurity editor at Norton, provided written advice following the case, stating that a standard phone number may not serve as the best method for identity verification. Birchall recommended utilizing authentication apps, establishing separate carrier PINs, and enabling account takeover protection.

Data from fraud prevention service Cifas released in August 2026 highlighted a broader trend, showing that unauthorized SIM-swap cases recorded to the UK's National Fraud Database increased by 402% in the first half of 2026 compared to the previous year.