UK’s most wanted fraudsters revealed by Crimestoppers

Charity releases pictures of 10 suspected criminals alleged to be responsible for a total of £200m of fraud The faces of some of Britain’s most wanted suspected fraudsters have been published in an effort to bring them to justice. Crimestoppers, the national charity, said the 10 suspected criminals were allegedly responsible for a total of at least £200m of fraud. The list includes a live-in carer suspected of a £35,000 fraud after she allegedly stole cheques from a vulnerable elderly woman; a man who allegedly posed as an entertainer raising money for a young cancer patient and a man thought to be behind a holiday booking scam. Two men wanted in relation to alleged VAT fraud, who were sentenced in their absence after absconding, also feature. Peter Stead, 48, is suspected of conning Derbyshire pub landlords out of thousands of pounds in 2009 after offering to put on a comedy night to raise money to send a young cancer patient to the US for treatment. Nicholas Slocombe, 28, failed to answer bail after being arrested in April on suspicion of more than 30 allegations of fraud by false representation across Shropshire and Herefordshire. Police said he was wanted in connection with reports from dozens of shops and businesses about alleged false claims of collecting for charity. Jascent Nakawunde, 33, also known as Tania Bird, is wanted for questioning in connection with an alleged £35,000 fraud in the Cardiff area between 2007 and 2008. She was employed as a live-in carer for a woman in her 80s and is accused of stealing cheques from her, which were allegedly paid into false accounts in London. Nasser Ahmed, 38, is wanted in connection with a £156m VAT fraud in the Bristol area. He absconded during his trial and was sentenced to six years in his absence. Crimestoppers said fraud cost the UK an estimated £38bn last year. Lord Ashcroft, founder and Crimestoppers chairman, said: “This is not a victimless crime. Every single one of us is paying higher taxes, bank charges and insurance fees because of fraud. “The amount of fraud against the public purse is around £27bn a year. This is equivalent to 30% of the estimated national education budget for 2011/2012.” He added: “Serious fraudsters often operate as part of gangs and fraud is just one of their business streams. This can result in the funding of drugs and people trafficking, which causes real harm to many.” Ashcroft urged anyone with information about fraudsters, or the whereabouts of the 10 people featured on the list, to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or to visit its website and fill in an online form. “We guarantee that no one will know your identity,” he said. “Help us take these criminals out of circulation.” The full list • Nasser Ahmed, 38, wanted in connection to an alleged £156m VAT fraud in the Bristol area. He absconded during trial and was sentenced to six years jail in his absence. He is wanted by revenue and customs police. • Timur Mehmet, 38, wanted in connection with a £25m VAT fraud. He absconded before trial and was sentenced in his absence to eight years. He has links with north London and is wanted by revenue and customs police. • Misba Uddin, 48, wanted for fraud by false representation after he allegedly submitted fraudulent mortgage applications worth £5.7m while working as a financial adviser. Once the mortgages were processed he is accused of transferring the funds into his own accounts. He is wanted by the Metropolitan police. • Ajayi Seun, 45, who is charged with conspiracy to money launder and has failed to answer bail. He is alleged to have conned mortgage lenders and banks out of more than £12m between 2004 and 2009. His previous address was in Carshalton, Surrey. He is a solicitor and has strong links to the Carshalton area. He is wanted by Suffolk police. • Peter Stead, 48, wanted after allegedly conning Derbyshire pub landlords out of thousands of pounds in 2009. He is accused of fraudulently posing as an entertainer and brother of the comedian Peter Kay. He offered to put on a comedy night to raise money for the Lewis Mighty Fund, which was set up to send a six-year-old cancer patient to the US for treatment. Stead, who allegedly used the alias of Danny Kay, was allegedly given cash by landlords to secure the booking but failed to perform. He is wanted by Derbyshire police. • Nicholas Slocombe, 28, wanted in connection with reports from dozens of shops and businesses about alleged false claims of collecting for charity. He was arrested in April on suspicion of more than 30 allegations of fraud by false representation across Shropshire and Herefordshire. He failed to answer bail in May. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is alleged to have used the aliases of Owen Roswell and Arron Renfry and is wanted by the West Mercia police force. • Jascent Nakawunde, 33, also known as Tania Bird, wanted for questioning in connection with an alleged £35,000 fraud in the Cardiff area between 2007 and 2008. She was employed as a live-in carer for a woman in her 80s. During this time she is accused of stealing cheques from her which were allegedly paid into false accounts in the London area. She has strong links and previous addresses in London. She is alleged to have used the aliases of Tania Bird and Tracey Bird and is wanted by South Wales police. • Mohamad Khan, 29, from Waltham Cross, north-east London, accused of using counterfeit credit cards to buy more than £100,000 worth of goods from shopping centres such as Bluewater and Lakeside. He was arrested and charged but failed to attend crown court. A warrant has been issued for his arrest. He is believed to be in London and is wanted by City of London police. • An unknown woman, who is alleged to have falsely obtained a debit card and account details in the name of a legitimate customer from a bank in Bethnal Green, east London, in October 2008. She then went to three more banks in Saffron Walden, Cranbrook and Cambridge Hills and is accused of fraudulently transferring funds out of the customer’s account. The electronic transfers were wired to locations across the world and used to buy a number of expensive vehicles, it is alleged. The total amount she is accused of stealing is £650,000. She is wanted by City of London police. • Kevin Leitch, 48, from Liverpool, who is wanted by Devon and Cornwall police. He allegedly took bookings for a holiday let in Cornwall, accepting payments often worth more than £1,000, but then cancelled the bookings only days beforehand, claiming the property was no longer available. He lived in Cornwall and has links to St Austell and Newquay, Brixham in Devon and Southampton. He allegedly used the alias of Kevin Branson. Crime Police Identity fraud guardian.co.uk

Posted by on August 2, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.