Two former RAC employees, who pleaded guilty to unlawfully copying and selling over 29,500 lines of personal information, have been ordered to pay back over £118,000 in a confiscation order at Proceeds of Crime Act hearings in Manchester.
Debbie Okparavero and Maliha Islam worked as customer service specialists at the RAC’s call centre in Stretford. Their unlawful conduct was discovered by the RAC and reported to the Information Commissioner’s Office after it installed new security monitoring software.
The software showed Okparavero had unlawfully accessed and copied personal information relating to people involved in road traffic accidents. A subsequent search of her mobile phone showed the information was shared in a WhatsApp chat with Islam. Messages indicated that a third party was paying for the information.
The duo were originally sentenced to six-month prison sentences in October 2024, suspended for 18 months, and each ordered to complete 150 hours of unpaid work.
Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to commit offences under section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and the Data Protection Act 2018.
At a recent hearing held at Manchester Crown Court, Okparavero was ordered to pay £85,727.32, plus costs of £3,550.00. If payment of the confiscation order is not made within three months, Okparavero will serve 18 months in prison and still be liable to pay the full amount.
At a previous hearing, Islam was ordered to pay £33,125.00 within three months plus costs of £2,797.50. Failure to do so would have carried a 10 month prison sentence. In respect of Islam, the confiscation order has been paid in full.
ICO head of investigations Andy Curry said: “This outcome demonstrates justice did not end at sentencing. Our powers enabled us to continue to pursue these two individuals in order to strip them of assets gained through their serious criminal activity. Through the Proceeds of Crime Act, we are ensuring people do not financially benefit from their criminal activity.
“I would like to once again thank the RAC for informing us about this breach and fully supporting the ICO’s investigation, which enabled us to hold these two individuals to account.”
Late last month, Rizwan Manjra, from Bolton was slapped with a £355,880.10 confiscation order, which must be paid within three months or he will be jailed for three years and six months and still be liable for the full amount.
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