‘Bogus Bollywood’ film producer, a ‘gay spy’ and the ‘NHS conman’ on list of 10 most wanted
The gallery of alleged con-artists has been released ahead of shocking new crime figures
A BOGUS Bollywood movie producer, a man who posed as a gay spy and another who is said to have stolen £12 million from the NHS are among Britain’s most wanted alleged fraudsters.
The police have today appealed for the public’s help to catch those thought to be responsible for more than £20m of fraud scams in the UK and abroad.
The gallery of 10 alleged con-artists has been released ahead of shocking new crime figures that will reveal the exact scale of fraud in modern Britain.
Details of those being hunted are revealed by the City of London Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA).
Preliminary figures released in October 2015 found that there had been 5.1 million incidents of fraud in England and Wales in the previous year - affecting an estimated one in 12 adults.
It is now the most common form of crime in Britain.
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Donald Toon, director of the NCA's Economic Crime Command, said: "The annual losses to the UK from fraud are estimated to be more than £190 billion.
"Behind this headline figure lie the actions of criminals like the wanted fraudsters highlighted in this appeal, who have caused distress and loss to people and businesses up and down the country.
"Law enforcement cannot tackle this problem alone. It is only by working together, individuals, law enforcement, Government and the private sector that we can protect the UK against fraud.
"It is important that anyone able to provide information on the ten fraudsters we are highlighting today takes the opportunity to pass that information to law enforcement to help bring them to justice."
Alex Mckenzie - the 'Gay Spy' accused of scamming £300k
Alex Mckenzie, 33, is accused of carrying out a string of different frauds targeting mainly members of the gay community pocketing more than £300,000.
He is accused of obtaining credit cards, bank accounts and loans in the names of others, often partners he met on the gay social networking app 'Scruff'.
Police reveal also claimed to have worked for MI6 and even used forged documents and fake uniforms to perfect his top secret cover.
He is now believed to be living illegally in the United States, but could have returned to Britain using one of his aliases. In the past he has used the names Jaswant Singh and James McKenzie.
Mckenzie is also wanted for diverting approximately £30k into his own bank account whilst working for the accounts department for a large multi-national company.
These offences were committed between November 2014 and October 2015 when he lived at various addresses across West, East and South East London.
Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call the Metropolitan Police’s Falcon team on 0207 161 8321.
Sandeep Arora - the 'Bogus Bollywood Producer' in £4.5m film probe
Sandeep Arora, 42, claims to be a successful Bollywood film producer and is wanted in connection with £4.5m tax fraud.
Arora is suspected of submitting VAT and Film Tax claims for movies which never existed.
Between 2007 and 2011, Arora setup a production company with offices in central London while he lived in Beckton.
He made the VAT and Film Tax claims for films entitled 'Billy the Beagle', 'London Dreams', 'Kuan Bola', 'Aagosh', 'Trapped' and 'Kia the Dream Girl', but they either didn’t exist or he had no involvement with them.
He is known in the Bollywood Film Industry as Karan Arora and claims to be a Film Producer who makes films in India and Fiji.
Arora is currently believed to be in India, and police say it is highly likely he will continue to commit further offences until he is caught.
If you have any information relating to the whereabouts of Arora then please contact the Customs Confidential Hotline on 0800 595 0000.
Levi John Coyle - The 'Boiler Scammer' who made £700,000
Levi John Coyle, 36, is wanted for running a boiler room scam selling fake or worthless shares which netted him hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Claiming to be a broker he cold called victims offering shares at a bargain price, but those who parted with their cash never received share certificates.
The Colchester man failed to stand trial at the Old Bailey in September 2013 for defrauding investors out of £700,000 between 2009 and 2010.
Coyle was sentenced in his absence to six years imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and money laundering.
Coyle is subject of a bench warrant for his arrest and his image has been circulated to UK enforcement agencies in a bid to trace his whereabouts.
Joseph Ford, of the City of London Police Fraud Investigation Team, said “We are calling upon the public for their assistance in locating Coyle.
"Coyle must accept the consequences of his crimes, face the courts and begin his jail term handed to him in his absence.”
Anyone with information regarding Coyle’s whereabouts is urged to call the City of London Police on 0207 601 2222.
Marius Lucian Antonc - The 'Cashpoint Conman' being hunted
Romanian Marius Lucian Anton, 31, is wanted on suspicion of stealing from bank cash machines across the country.
Using hi-tech card skimming devices, Anton, who has links to the Cheshire and Northamptonshire areas, is thought to have got away with thousands of pounds.
Despite the nationwide circulation of Anton’s image to all police forces, he has not been traced.
It is believed that he will continue to commit further fraud offences until he is found, says cops.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call Cheshire Police on 01244 350 000.
Felix Rooney - The 'Scar-faced Rogue Trader' who tricked OAP
Felix Rooney, 35, is wanted for conning an elderly man out of £100,000 for unnecessary building work on his home worth just £1,000.
He allegedly told the 72-year-old that he needed urgent work carried out on his roof, but kept asking for more payment until the total bill came close to £100,000.
Trading Standards subsequently surveyed the work and estimated the true value of the work was less than £1,000.
Rooney, who also goes by other names including Michael Hannon and Martin Connors, is 35 and has an Irish accent and scars on his face.
He travels extensively but has links to the West Midlands, Worcester and London areas.
Rooney has a history of preying on the elderly and vulnerable, and he may have shaved his head and already be reoffending.
He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in March 2011 after stealing money from elderly victims by getting into their homes by claiming he was from the Water Board.
Detectives also advise members of the public who see him not to approach him but call police immediately.
Anyone with information is asked to call detectives from Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 6860.
Adam Stagg - The 'Luxury Watch Hustler' now 'living it up'
Adam Stagg, 29, is wanted in connection with a £20,000 fraud where victims were tricked into paying hundreds of pounds for luxury watches that never turned up.
He is thought to have succeeded in conning more than 140 customer who paid out for timepieces but never received any goods.
Stagg, who is wanted by Avon and Somerset Police is thought to be leading a life of luxury in Manilla.
Victims paid money into various bank accounts belonging to associates of Stagg, who then sent the money on to Stagg in the Philippines.
However, none of his victims ever received a watch and some even reported to police that they were threatened when they tried to find out why they hadn’t received their goods.
Through their enquiries, detectives believe that Stagg is 'living it up' in the Manila area of the Philippines and is fully aware that he is wanted by police.
Anyone with information about Stagg’s whereabouts should call Avon and Somerset Police on 01275 814 541.
Alexia Thomas - The 'Citizenship Conwoman' with dozens of aliases
Alexia Thomas, 43, is suspected of being involved in the supply of fraudulent immigration documents to those looking to gain British citizenship.
The documents, which sold for around £300 each, purported to be from organisation such as The Independent Diplomatic Commission or the Commonwealth Liberation Party.
They were presented to court by people looking to gain British citizenship but closer examination found that the organisations did not actually exist.
Thomas was last known to be living in Camden in north London, but had connections across the capital.
Thomas is believed to have been involved in the founding of the companies that were set up to provide these documents to buyers, claiming to be a Professor on company documentation and using the moniker ‘Her Knowledgable’ on company literature.
Thomas is known to have used many different aliases including Professor Thomas, Professor Summers, Martha Peterson and Alexia Bridget.
Thomas’s last known address was in Robert Street, in Camden, central London.
Anyone with information on Thomas’s current whereabouts should call the Police on 101.
Faisal Butt - The 'Identity Thief' believed to have headed to Pakistan
Faisal Butt, 39, from Lahore in Pakistan is suspected of stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds from bank accounts by assuming the identities of genuine customers.
By opening accounts he was able to obtain credit and debit cards and transfer funds into the fraudulent accounts.
He was charged and convicted of conspiracy to defraud in March 2015 at the Old Bailey, but failed to turn up for his sentencing.
Butt, along with a ‘bank insider’ and a number of others in his criminal gang, were able to pass themselves off as genuine account holders and open joint bank accounts linked to existing customer’s main accounts.
By opening these accounts they were able to obtain credit and debit cards and transfer the customer’s funds into their own accounts or reset the customer’s security details. An ongoing financial investigation is taking place to try and find where the money has been sent to.
Butt was charged with conspiracy to defraud on 31 March 2015 and appeared at the Old Bailey on 19 October 2015. However, he failed to return to court on 29 April of this year and was sentenced in his absence. He is thought to have gone back to Pakistan.
If you have information relating to the whereabouts of Butt please contact the DCPCU on 0207 709 6600.
Bayo Lawrence Anoworin - The 'NHS Fraudster' accused of £12m scam
Bayo Lawrence Anoworin, 41, from Lagos in Nigeria is wanted on suspicion of fraud and money laundering in connection with a multi-million scam carried out against the NHS.
The organised crime group he was allegedly associated with is accused of stealing £12 million from NHS Trusts in the UK and Guernsey.
He was arrested in 2011 but went on the run after being given police bail and has remained at large ever since.
Efforts have been made to find Anowrin, who has strong connections in Chatham and Thamesmead. Enquiries have been made in the area but so far nobody has come forward with information about his whereabouts.
If you have information about Anoworin please contact Lincolnshire Police on 01522 532222.
Naeem Ahmed - The 'Phone Fleecer' said to have stolen £40k
Naeem Ahmed, 44, has stolen mobile phone handsets worth an estimated £40,000 using fraudulent payment details.
Using stolen customer details, he obtained mobile phone upgrades and brand new handsets at stores right across the south of England.
He is thought to be in the West Midlands.
Ahmed, of Smethwick, is charged in connection with 21 fraud offences which he has committed at mobile phone shops between the 14 June 2014 and the 7 October 2014.
He was arrested in October 2014 after mobile phone staff who were serving Ahmad, suspected that he had committed fraudulent activity at store in Portsmouth.
Specifically the offences have been committed in: Portsmouth, Salisbury, Eastleigh, Andover, Bridgewater, Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Leeds, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Castleford, Newbury, Fareham, Southampton, Winchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Newport.
On all occasions Ahmed, who is also believed to be using a number of aliases, has obtained in-store mobile phone upgrades and been handed brand new handsets by using stolen customer details.
Ahmed is believed to be in Birmingham or other areas in the west Midlands.
Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call Hampshire Police on 101 quoting ref 44160261412.