Sunday 4 April 2010

Rookie Swindler Chased Glamorous Lifestyle


This is the face of a notorious teen conman whose ‘Walter Mitty’ existence was funded by a string of scams that left companies in the film and fashion industry £82,000 out of pocket.

James Cameron, 19, of Neutron Tower, Blackwall Way, Poplar, East London posed as a successful entrepreneur and defrauded small companies and individuals to maintain a highflying lifestyle.

He posed as the company director of Urban Fashion and hired a photographic studio in Lambeth, professional models, hair and make-up artists and photographers to embark on a four-day fashion shoot.

None of these people or companies was ever paid.

He would also open accounts with private hire car firms and enjoyed being chauffeured around London and running up thousands of pounds in unpaid invoices in the process.

One cab firm lost £20,000 in unpaid bills.

The investigation led by Wandsworth CID uncovered offences involving 11 victims in various parts of London including Lambeth, Shepherds Bush, Wandsworth, Harrow, Hounslow, Battersea and Hackney plus two offences in Hampshire.

Cameron dodged prison at Southwark Crown Court when sentenced to 50 weeks custody, suspended for two years and was ordered to perform 200 hours community service work.

He will also be subject to 12 months supervision.

Cameron pleaded guilty to nine counts of fraud by false representation and later asked for two further offences of fraud, to be taken into consideration.

Detective Constable Kate Giles of Wandsworth CID said: "Although Cameron posed as a successful entrepreneur at the expense of others he didn't actually make any money for himself. He simply enjoyed living the high life.

"But at the end of this are Cameron's victims, either self-employed or small businesses.

"He has never shown any remorse for his actions and I wonder if he appreciates or cares about the damage he has caused to numerous small businesses operating at very narrow margins.

"Let us hope that now he has been publicly named and identified, it is sufficient to deter him from continuing his fraudulent Walter Mitty lifestyle."

In August 2008 an allegation of false representation was made to Lambeth Police by a 38-year-old woman who said she agreed to work for a man who claimed to be a promotional film producer but she had not been paid.

Cameron had contacted the victim, a professional photographer, in May 2008 saying he ran a West End-based company called Urban Fashion and commissioned her to take pictures on three different occasions.

The shoots took place at studios in Shepherd's Bush and her £8,500 bill was ignored. She researched the company and found Cameron's name together with a host of articles about his history of fraud.

She then got an email from Urban Fashion saying it was going into voluntary liquidation.

A freelance make-up and hair artist answered an advertisement on an intranet site finding placements for students and graduates in the fashion world.

Cameron engaged her through telephone calls and email. She was defrauded of £650.

Further victims from the shoots were identified mostly professional hair and make-up artists. In addition the studios lost £3,882 and the model agency lost £10,500.

Further offences came to light during September 2008. A car company in Battersea told Wandsworth Police they were defrauded of £4,340 having provided cars for Cameron's alleged business activities with Urban Fashion and for his own use.

Around the same time another car company in Hackney told police that Cameron had defrauded them of £4,582 between July and August 2008.

Similarly, a black cab company in Harrow reported to police in July 2008 that Cameron had defrauded them of £21,000 between October 2006 and March 2007.

Cameron had been using the company name of Worldwide Services at that time providing two references, which were subsequently found to be false. In February 2007, Cameron settled his account with a cheque that bounced.

Further offences uncovered by the investigation included a stationery company in Hounslow who had been defrauded by Urban Fashion of £7,815 between April and June 2008.

They were paid with a cheque that was stopped before it could be cashed, saying it was an internal error.

The stationery company continued to supply goods but stopped after a new cheque was never received.

By this time, Cameron had set up another company called Extreme Office, which he used to sell on the stationery.

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