In 2019, businessman Wayne Johncock, co-founder of London-based online education provider SuperLearningSeries, was among the victims of a major scam, losing more than £400,000 to a fraudster who presented himself as a UK vice president of one of the four largest banks in the US. The fraudster used several elaborate schemes to pocket a total of over £1.9 million from multiple victims, having exploited the bank's actual systems to give victims an impression of legitimacy.
Despite this, SuperLearningSeries (SLS) remains steadfast in its commitment to excellence in education, providing the best programs for primary school students, for use both in the classroom and at home.
SLS traces its roots back to the mid-90s, when co-founders Wayne Johncock and Gerard Leary created a CD-ROM-based learning resource, teaching spelling, grammar, and mathematics to primary school children in the US, UK, and Australian markets. The product saw significant success, especially in the UK and Australia. By the 2010s, seeing the need to adapt to new technological developments, SLS transitioned to a fully online, app-based model. It was also completely rewritten with remote learning in mind.
Children can work on various individualized learning activities, with each activity featuring spoken instructions and spoken and animated explanations. Children receive immediate feedback on their responses, and parents receive weekly emails reporting on their child's progress. The material is written by teachers with many years of teaching experience with students of different learning abilities.
SLS has a partner program that offers full support and educational content for partners to launch their own digital global online business. After signing up for a small joining fee, partners receive their own website and support from SLS, where they can work remotely and grow their business. This is perfect in today's economic climate where the modern working patterns need to be flexible as the traditional 9-5 is no longer the norm.
As SLS was undergoing major changes to its business model, there was a need for additional investment. Little did Johncock know that meeting prospective investor Rajesh Ghedia at a neighborhood Christmas party would spell disaster for him and his family. Ghedia, who was actually a low-level IT worker at the bank, introduced himself as a vice president of the global bank's operations in the UK, and he expressed interest in investing in the business, with the bank also involved in the investment of £1.5 million.
Over the next few months, Johncock and Ghedia exchanged hundreds of emails that appeared legitimate, as they used email addresses from the bank, involving a fictional "head of compliance". Having a background in technology, Johncock checked the email headers and they were indeed coming from the bank's system. He and Ghedia even held several meetings inside the bank's headquarters.
To satisfy compliance and regulatory requirements, Ghedia convinced Johncock to set up one of the bank's personal wealth portfolio investments. Johncock would be required to deposit £142,000 in order for Ghedia to use this as a financial vehicle to transfer his £ 1.5 million investment.
"He had an answer for every question I had and he had all the documents ready," Johncock says. "It was a very well-practiced routine for him. We had six business meetings at the bank's headquarters and other employees would say hello to him. He was an authentic employee of the bank, and everything seemed above board."
To launch SLS Johncock hired 20 employees, including graphic artists and social media marketers, as he was assured that the investment would soon come through. However, the promised investment was delayed, with Ghedia constantly providing various excuses. Johncock even received emails from a purported Russian hacker, saying that they stole the money from the account.
Fifteen months into the scam, Johncock became suspicious of Ghedia, the account where he deposited his funds was inaccessible. He then emailed the bank's security team inquiring about their vice president, and a couple of weeks later, he received confirmation that Ghedia was not actually a vice president. The bank reported this to the City of London Police Ghedia was soon arrested for more than 30 counts of fraud, including claiming £1.2 million in insurance benefits by pretending to have terminal cancer.
Johncock says that the bank, whose systems and controls were compromised for an extended period and central to committing the scam, has refused to take accountability. Despite Johncock holding a huge amount of physical and digital evidence, authorities keep pointing at each other. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) told him that they would not investigate the matter as it involved criminal activity. Meanwhile, the City of London Police said it's not their jurisdiction because it involved data breaches.
"My wife and I were expecting an ethical and honest response from the bank. The bank has a billion-dollar annual budget for cybersecurity, but their employee was able to bypass governance and controls to scam multiple people, " Johncock says. "I've lost my life savings and we could lose our house. I have had significant mental health issues and have reached out for support. I'm determined to fight this out and seek accountability from the bank and authorities."
Amid the hardships inflicted by the massive fraud on Johncock and his family, he remains determined to seek justice, as well as keep SLS up and running, continuing to provide education to children and livelihood for its partners.
"I saw a photo of a statue in China, where a young girl and a grown man are sitting on opposite ends of a see-saw," he says. "However, the balance is tilted in the girl's favor because she has multiple books, demonstrating that knowledge is power. I get so much energy, faith, and belief from it because I know that my mission with SuperLearningSeries is a noble one and that the truth is on my side."
