Man Jailed for Hacking Facebook Account and Posing as Father to Defraud Children

A man has been sentenced to prison after hacking another person’s Facebook account, messaging the victim’s children while posing as their father, and deceiving them into sending money. The Criminal Court imposed the sentence on Adam Rasheed of G. Boulevard, Malé. In the same case, the State also brought charges against his brother, Hussain Rasheed of G. Boulevard. That case has not yet been concluded. According to the court’s judgment, on 8 November 2023 Adam Rasheed hacked the Facebook account of a person from Ihavandhoo in Haa Alifu Atoll. He then used Messenger to contact the victim’s daughter and ask her to send 1,000 rufiyaa, and to contact the victim’s son and ask him to send 3,500 rufiyaa. The money was to be deposited into a Bank of Maldives account opened in the name of Adam Rasheed’s full brother, Hussain Rasheed. The two children deposited a total of 4,500 rufiyaa from their accounts into that account, and Adam Rasheed collected the money from a BML ATM located in Gaakoshi. Adam Rasheed was charged by the State with “exercising power over another person’s property without consent.” At the initial stage, without a lawyer, he voluntarily pleaded guilty. The basic penalty prescribed by law for the offence is four months and 24 days of imprisonment. Although pleading guilty reduced the sentence, the sentencing level was increased under the Penal Code because he had a prior record for theft within the past six years. In the verdict pronounced last week, Judge Ibrahim Zuhni ordered that Adam Rasheed be imprisoned for four months and 24 days. The part of the case involving Hussain Rasheed has been decided to be heard by another bench of the Criminal Court.