Yahoo Finance Couple splashed out on designers shoes and Rolex watches from £87,000 banking scam
A couple splashed out on designer shoes and Rolex watches after posing as a stockbroker and a beautician in an £87,000 fraud, a court heard.
Emmanuel Scotts, 53, and his wife Behnaz Khoram-Scotts, 51, pretended to be wealthy as they opened a string of bank accounts to deposit cheques into.
They created aliases for themselves, using doctored paperwork and identification documents to persuade bank officials that Scotts was a high-flying City broker and his wife worked as a luxury beautician.
The couple, from Chelsea, paid a series of cheques into the bank accounts, before moving the funds around to steal the money before the doctored cheques could be properly investigated.
When the scam - carried out between in 2017 and 2018 - was discovered, police officers discovered an extensive collection of shoes including by designers Louboutin and Gucci, as well as Louis Vuitton handbags at the couple’s home.
An investigation by the Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit uncovered evidence of a bank card linked to Scotts being used to buy £36,000 of Rolex watches on Bond Street and Oxford Street.
When he was arrested at Heathrow airport in October 2018, Scotts had a collection of credit cards and cheque books in his luggage along thousands of euros in cash.
Police also found bank cards, blank cheques, and lists of bank details when they raided his home in Wandsworth.
At Inner London crown court on Friday, Scotts was jailed for four years and Khoram-Scotts was handed a 20-month jail term suspended for two years.
“This husband and wife wrongfully thought they could get away with funding their lifestyle by committing fraud”, said Detective Constable Martin Godsave, the investigating officer.
“Fortunately, we were able to detect these fraudsters by working closely with the bank to bring them to justice.
“This sentencing is a warning to those who believe they can benefit financially from fraud that they will be caught and punished.”
While living on state benefits, they had posed as wealthy tourists in designer shopping sprees, paid for private schooling for their children, and gambling at casinos.
The couple both admitted their involvement in the latest scam, with Scott pleading guilty to fraud and his wife admitting possession of articles for use in fraud and possession of criminal property.
Read More
Football agent Willie McKay cleared over presents bought while facing bankruptcy
