Cheating Son Must Repay £9,900 For Dad House Fraud

More Prison Time? : Nicholas Forrester

A son who secretly remortgaged his parents’ home to finance a buy-to-let property portfolio while claiming benefits has been ordered to repay £9,900.

Nicholas Leroy Forrester, 51, took out a £300,000 loan on the £1.5m six-bedroom Hammersmith property - his family’s home of thirty-five years.

He used the money to help purchase three properties in east London while having the rent paid on his own discounted housing association flat by taxpayers.

At Isleworth Crown Court, where last year he received three years and four months, Forrester was told to pay the sum or serve an extra six months imprisonment.

Father-of-two Forrester, of Perham Road, West Kensington was convicted of obtaining a £300,000 money transfer by deception between February 1 and June 30, 2006.

He also pleaded guilty to five counts of making a dishonest representation to obtain benefits, namely Jobseekers Allowance; Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit totalling £10,000.

He deceived his 83 year-old dad Ivor Forrester.

“Your behaviour as far as your father’s property was concerned was profoundly dishonest and false representations were used towards your father and almost certainly your mother,” Judge John Dennis told him.

“It was well-planned, taking advantage of vulnerable individuals.

Dad : Ivor Forrester

“You became fixated with the opinion that this house was your house and when the equity rose you were determined to strip it out to pursue your own commercial ventures, which did not go well.

“Your family has now effectively rejected you and your father feels let-down by you and defrauded.”

Forrester no longer owns the three investment properties, which included a house in Napier Road, Leytonstone he bought with the help of a £65,000 cash deposit.

Prosecutor Mr. Benjamin Waidhofer told the court the house was transferred to Nicholas in 1999 during his father’s bankruptcy, with his dad continuing to pay all the bills.

However, in 2006 he persuaded his parents to sign paperwork for a new loan. “The defendant had no right to make this application and Ivor would never have made it.

“This defendant was always saying the house was his in that it was going to be his inheritance.

“He claimed benefits as somebody who was unemployed, owned no properties and had no savings or income.”

The High Court returned the property title to Ivor, who continues to live there, but he must make the £1,100 per month repayments on the loan taken out by his son.

“He was in debt and out of work,” said Forrester’s lawyer Miss Sam Bonner. “The properties he bought were all repossessed and taken from him.

“The family relationships are very fractured now and he is extremely low, very stressed and extremely remorseful.

“This has taken a toll on him physically and mentally as well as financially.”

Pompey Fan Shoved Steward During Away Win At AFC Wimbledon

AFC Wimbledon 0 Portsmouth 2

An over-excited Portsmouth supporter was nicked for shoving a steward during his team's two-nil away win against AFC Wimbledon earlier this season.

Michael Buckingham, 29, of Hawthorn Crescent, Cosham, had travelled to the Kingsmeadow stadium for the League One fixture on September 9.

He appeared at Wimbledon Magistrates Court last Wednesday where he pleaded guilty to assaulting matchday steward Anthony Stewart.

Buckingham was conditionally discharged for twelve months and ordered to pay £85 costs and a £20 victim surcharge.

The court heard Buckingham was one of many away fans who encroached onto the pitch and he “ran up and pushed Mr. Stewart hard with both hands.”

Afterwards the defendant told police: “He pushed me so I pushed him back.”

The steward told officers: “I did not feel injured and it dd not effect my role in any way.”

Buckingham penned a written apology to Mr. Stewart and the court.

He said from the dock: “I really regret my actions I'm very sorry. It's a one-off, it won't happen again.”

The magistrate told Buckingham: “As you say it was a moment of madness.”

Prostitute Repeatedly Raped By Knife-Wielding Customer

A punter, who repeatedly raped a prostitute then jumped from his seventh-floor window to escape police, has been jailed for twelve years.

Ahad Ali, 21, broke an arm and a leg when the victim – a woman in her forties – raised the alarm and officers forced their way into his flat.

Ali, of Sidney Street, Stepney was convicted at Woolwich Crown Court of four counts of rape; one count of sexual assault by penetration; false imprisonment and threats to kill.

She was booked at attend Ali's home at 9.00pm on February 13, but when she arrived he pushed her into his bedroom and locked the door.

He then grabbed her by the hair and picked up a knife and placed it against her throat.

Ali raped the woman four times after he threatened to kill her if she did not do what he said.

When he left the room for a short period of time, the victim managed to call a taxi driver and screamed for help before Ali grabbed the phone off her.

The taxi driver then called police to the address and officers forced entry to the flat.

In an attempt to evade arrest Ali leapt from the window and spent ten days in hospital recovering from his injuries.

In police interview, Ali claimed the victim had made up the allegations, but he was convicted by a jury.

Officers from the Metropolitan Police's Child Abuse and Sexual Offences (CASO) Command built up a strong case against Ali after taking statements from the victim and the taxi driver.

Mobile phone analysis was also used to back up the victim's account.

Detective Constable Stav Georgiou-Moran, a CASO officer who led the investigation said: "Ahad Ali is a predatory individual who targeted a vulnerable female.

“This was a premeditated, violent attack that involved the use of a large knife to threaten the victim.

"I would like to praise the courage and bravery of the victim in giving evidence against the defendant.

“Anyone who has been the victim of sexual violence is advised to tell someone they trust or inform the police."

Assistant To Business Scribe Sir Samuel Brittan Charged With Defrauding Him

Sir Samuel Brittan

An assistant to veteran business journalist Sir Samuel Brittan has been charged with defrauding him of approximately £96,000.

Michelle Brathwaite, 46, of Whitstable House, Silchester Road, North Kensington, was too ill to attend City of London Magistrates Court on Tuesday.

Her lawyer Nasreen Tincey told the court: “The reason she is not here is she was rushed to hospital with a suspected stroke. She’s been released, but her condition is still quite bad.

Sir Samuel, 83, is the elder brother of the late Sir Leon Brittan, who died in January, 2015 aged seventy-five and was the former Home Secretary to Margaret Thatcher.

He was the first economics correspondent for the Financial Times, where he still writes a column and was the economics editor at The Observer.

Cambridge graduate Sir Samuel is also a member of the Academic Advisory Council of the Global Warming Policy Foundation. 

Brathwaite was summonsed on a charge of fraud by abuse of position between August 1, 2016 and April 30, in that as a trusted friend and helper withdrew and transferred sums of money from Sir Samuel’s Coutts & Co. bank account to make a gain, namely £93,500.

She also faces two counts of fraud by false representation on dates between August 1, 2016 and April 7, firstly that she submitted a document that she had third party payment authorisation to Sir Samuel’s American Express bank account with intent to make a gain, namely £96,000.

Secondly that she had permission to use Sir Samuel’s American Express card to pay for goods and services to make a gain, namely £96,000.

Brathwaite is also charged with stealing £91,000 from Sir Samuel between April 1 and 30, this year.

The case was adjourned to November 28, when Brathwaite is expected to return.

Fake SAS Ladies Man Jailed For £111,000 Con

Fitt: Fake Colonel Got Four Years

A fake SAS Colonel love-rat, who swindled and stole £111,137 from two girlfriends, a retired chief superintendent and an investor, has received four years.

Ladies man Mark Fitt, 43, described by one ex as “charming and charismatic” wowed his victims with tall tales of serving in the special forces and French Foreign Legion.

He was dating a policewoman while stealing from another girlfriend, who he convinced his company - N49 Intelligence - was going to make a fortune in the Middle-East and Africa.

Fitt, of James Terrace, Mortlake was found guilty of stealing £33,690 from business analyst Hilary Davies, 57, and £45,874 from interior designer Tracey Saunders, 45.

He was also convicted of defrauding retired police chief superintendent Mark Veljovic, 59, of £30,000 and stealing £1600 from investor Oliver Tonkin.

Nicknamed ‘Colonel Blimp’ by an ex Fitt dated Davies and Saunders simultaneously while they financed his lifestyle of drinking and holding court in the pubs of leafy Barnes.

“The four offences all involved taking money from people you met socially, who were told you were setting-up a counter-kidnap and ransom business in the Middle-East,” Recorder John Kingston told Fitt.

“You persuaded them to give you money to tide you over while you got the business off the ground and you were in a relationship with the two women and these relationships overlapped.

“You exaggerated your military experience and contacts and the business had little chance of success and you knew it.

“These were particularly nasty offences and the two women were susceptible to being taken in by a man who had entered into a romantic relationship with them.

“Their vulnerability was based on their romantic attachment to you and these offences have had a major impact on both of them

Davies: Lost £33,690

“You got them to finance your lifestyle. In the case of Tracey Saunders it was her entire savings and you knew it.”

Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court heard Fitt claim to come from a military family and serve six years in the Queen’s Dragoon Guards.

He claimed to be an expert in kidnapping and extortion with large companies and insurers willing to pay £200,000-£300,000 per quarter for his skills in trouble-spots like Libya and Somalia.

“I thought he was very charming, his voice was quite hypnotic and I trusted him as a nice character,” said Ms Davies. “I was hoping it would be a relationship at one point.”

Ms Saunders told the jury: “I was very worried about him, his stress levels and financial situation. I cared about him and wanted to help.”

While dating Ms Saunders Fitt was seeing policewoman Zoe Richardson and defrauded her housemate, Mr. Veljovic.

One witness told the court Fitt sported a regimental tie in the pub one Remembrance Sunday and proudly displayed nine service medals, some SAS, for service in Iraq and Afghanistan.

However, Fitt denied this, explaining: “They were fake, they were not real and I had them when I dressed up as Colonel Gadaffi at a fancy dress party.”

Ms Davis explained: “He said he was a specialist with UK special forces and the UK security services.

“He was very persuasive and I felt empathy towards him. I still had funds in my limited company and felt I wanted to help him and felt that he was building up his future.”

Ms Davies told the court their relationship revolved around meetings and conversations. When asked if it was a sexual relationship she replied: “Not very actively.”

Saunders: Swindled Of £45,874

Within weeks Fitt was asking her for cash to tide his business over. “He was a confident person and gave me the impression he had money in the past.

“I wanted to help him and he was very charismatic,” explained Ms Davies, who also paid Fitt’s rent and what she believed were flights to overseas business meetings.

She funded his non-existent speaking engagement at a London Expo after being impressed by his ‘Project Phoebe’ business plan.

“The revenue forecasts ran into several millions of pounds. This was dishonest and to persuade her and other people to give money,” said prosecutor Mr. Tim Starkey.

She bumped into Fitt at a local cafe in March, 2013. “He was with another woman and wanted to blank me.

“I was so angry I just spluttered out: ‘Where’s my money. I want my money back.’

“He said I was hassling him and that I was a stalker and he was going to call the police.”

Witnesses mentioned three other women Fitt was seeing at different times during the period and he is now engaged to another woman he runs a company with.

He told Ms Saunders - who knew him as ‘Charlie’ - he had PTSD and began asking her for money after claiming the Foreign Office cancelled one of his contracts. 

She gave him £2,500 for a business trip to Nigeria; £5,000 for a trip to Somalia and also paid his utility bills and financed a three-week Thailand holiday for the couple.

Veljovic: Defrauded Of £30,000

He also signed-on for Jobseekers Allowance and enjoyed holidays to Tenerife and Majorca as well as a trip to the Bahamas and business class flights to Marseilles.

Throughout the trial he insisted he only told people he was merely trained by ex-SAS and French Foreign Legion soldiers in relation to his bodyguard work in Beirut.

He produced false business plans to convince Mr. Veljovic his company would received a lucrative retainer from insurance underwriters.

He even falsely claimed his company was endorsed by the former head of the Met’s kidnap and hostage unit.

“He spent Mr. Veljovic’s investment on a year’s rent,” added Mr. Starkey.

Fitt introduced himself in a local pub as a Colonel to the retired police officer. “He aid he was working on government contracts in the Middle East with other senior military leaders.

“He said he won a contract for kidnap response services and I had no reason to doubt his capabilities, given his links to senior military figures,” said Mr. Veljovic.

Fitt said he never passed himself off as a high-ranking officer. “The closest was my girlfriend Zoe’s nickname for me, she called me Colonel Blimp.”

He will now be subject to a Proceeds of Crime Act investigation after revealing he is a 16% shareholder in an internet company with his fiancé.

Severely-Disabled Man Convicted Of Spying On Naked Young Carers With Secret Cameras

Farhan Mian Outside Isleworth Crown Court

A chronically-disabled man was convicted last Friday of watching his naked young female carers on secret spy cameras, even recording one performing an x-rated live bed show for him with the aid of a sex toy.

Duchenne muscular dystrophy patient Farhan Mian, 32 - who needs 24 hour care - hired Eastern European women and recorded them showering and undressing at his flat.

Mian was able to operate three cameras in his White City flat in Banstead Court via a computer, which allowed him to zoom in and rotate them 360 degrees.

“You were trusted by your carers, who do virtually everything for you and you filmed these three young woman, who were unaware of it in your flat,” Judge Giles Curtis-Raleigh told him.

“It is clear from their evidence they found this upsetting and that they were violated and betrayed by your selfish actions for your own sexual gratification.”

Mian fought the case, but an Isleworth Crown Court jury unanimously found him guilty of six counts of voyeurism for the purpose of sexual gratification between 2011 and 2015.

He was placed on a six-month community order, which includes a three-month curfew, prohibiting Mian to leave his flat between 10pm and 6am.

He was also made subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order prohibiting him installing cameras in the bathroom and the carers’ room.

“The sentence marks as best I can the court’s view about these very unpleasant offences against young women who were doing their best for you,” added the judge.

Outside court Mian said: “People are also vulnerable to their carers.”

Two cameras were pointed at the carers’ bed in their private room and their shower, the third was in Mian’s room and there was a fourth short-lived camera hidden in a Playboy Bunny’s eye in their bedroom.

Mian claimed his nephew installed the cameras as a security measure after he was a victim of a theft and they were not for any gratification.

He can only move his tongue and right thumb and is usually bed-bound, but can operate a computer to communicate and is transported to court in a wheelchair that also assists his breathing.

Police were called and found the recordings after another carer, who had only been there five days, found a secret camera on September 3, 2015.

He received a police warning in 2011, but continued filming his carers, who he is no longer able to pick as he likes, but in consultation with the local authority.

Prosecutor Mr. Tim Starkey told the jury three young women, from Poland and Latvia, were hired by Mian, who is funded by the NHS to arrange his own care.

The first carer was employed between 2010 and 2012. “The camera is pointed towards her and follows her to the shower and zooms in.

“She was unaware she was being filmed and did not consent.”

Another seven recordings were found on Mian’s computer, including her undressing, using the toilet and intimately shaving herself.

In June, 2011 she returned after a two-week break. “She saw two Playboy Bunny’s attached to her bed and one of the eyes was a camera.”

“She complained and Mr. Mian said words to the effect of: ‘It’s my property, I can do what I want.’

“She was upset and he offered to pay her three thousand pounds to keep quiet about the camera.”

The woman called the police, but she did not make a statement and there was no further action.

The second woman worked for Mian between 2011 and 2016. “He offered her cash to masturbate in front of him.

“He recorded her in his bedroom, where she undressed and had a sex toy and went to kiss him.

“She lay on his bed and stroked her vagina with her fingers, but did not consent to him recording her doing this.”

Police found recordings of the third woman, who was employed for fourteen months from January, 2015, sitting on her bed stripped to the waist.

“She said it must have been just after she had taken a shower and said Mr. Mian frequently spoke to her in a sexually inappropriate way.

“He bought her a bikini to wear when she showered him and bought her a short Ann Summers dress.

“He said his carers often gave him ‘extras’ which she took to believe as sexual favours.”

Mr. Starkey added: “The cameras were installed specifically with the purpose to allow these acts of voyeurism to take place.

“He told the police he was a victim of theft and got his nephew to install the cameras.”

However, the jury were told some of the recordings were made before his claim a Bulgarian carer stole £300 from him in 2014.

The Polish carer, who was recorded by Mian sitting on her bed stripped to the waist, told the court: “He often talked about sex and I didn’t like that.

“He talked about his past relationships and what he did with the girls, showing me his sex toys and making sexual jokes.

“He told me that he had some sexual relationships with carers in the past.

“Some of the carers were also like his girlfriend and some of them did some extras for him.”

She told the court he was keen for her to assist him pleasuring himself. “He was telling me that when he has a shower sometimes he pays extra if someone helps him with a hand.

“He said he’d buy me pyjamas and I said make sure they have long sleeves and trousers, but when they arrived he had ordered a top with straps and very short shorts.

“He said: ‘I’ll get you a swimming costume so you can wear it when you shower me.’

‘I refused to wear it because it was two small pieces attached with string.”

Mian’s lawyer Mr. Graham Smith told the court: “He is the third-oldest male in the country with this condition and his life expectancy is poor.

“It’s been a difficult and emotional experience for him, a salutary experience.

"Having reached the ripe old age of thirty-two he is inspirational to many that he continues to live independently.” 

Crystal Palace Star Fighting Dangerous Driving Rap Over Motorway Crash

Court Date: Souare

Crystal Palace star Pape Souare is being privately prosecuted for dangerous driving by another motorist involved in the motorway crash that nearly ended the footballer’s career.

The 27 year-old left-back suffered a broken right thigh and jaw and had to be cut from the wreckage of his £135,000 black Mercedes G63 SUV and airlifted to hospital. 

The Senegal international appeared at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday on a summons of driving dangerously on the M4 on September 11, last year.

He did not enter the plea, but is fighting the case and a trial date for July 16 next year was set.

The prosecution is being brought by Darshan Dube, 34, of Cranbourne Road, Slough, who was charged by the police with driving his 2.5 litre BMW without due care and attention.

Souare’s lawyer Ian Bridge told the court he would be making dismissal and abuse of process applications before the trial date.

M4: Crash Scene

Souare, who recently returned to first-team action after 373 days out, was a prosecution witness in that case.

The Senegal international, who lives in a Thameside apartment in Lambeth Embankment, was a £3.5m signing by the Eagles from French club Reims in January, 2015.

After dropping off a friend at Heathrow Airport he crashed the vehicle into the central reservation and firefighters had to slice off the roof to rescue him from the wreckage.

He was taken by helicopter to the Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel.

Nanny Shared Online Child Porn With Mystery Skype Pal

A children’s nanny downloaded child porn images after she was “manipulated” by a mystery man she met online.

Elliana Ede-Borrett, 23, of Sumner Road, Croydon says she was prompted by an unknown person to obtain the sick images.

Inner London Crown Court heard she formed an internet relationship with a man from Sunderland and they communicated via Skype.

Ede-Borrett had already pleaded guilty at her first appearance at Camberwell Green Magistrates Court to three counts of making indecent images of children between September 23, 2015 and May 3, last year.

These relate to 12 Category A images - the most serious - 18 Category B images and 17 Category C images.

They involved children aged between one and six years-old.

The pair would view the images together while chatting on Skype and indulged in mutual masturbation.

Judge Stephen Dawson said during the last hearing: “This is an unusual case. 

“The Crown say that by what the police have gleaned it is not a case where the defendant herself has a proclivity to look at these sort of images and that she was manipulated by another.

“The issue, if there is one, is the protection of the public and herself from being in a situation like this.

“Maybe the probation service do not have much to offer.”

The judge said at the latest hearing: “On the basis of the facts of this case she was being used by the looks of it.

“The man involved left it for her to take responsibility for the images and his hands were clean.

“Even if he was detected, because of the way he set it up, it looks as if he was making a good job of protecting himself.”

He told Ede-Borrett: “Having heard the background to this I’ve come to the conclusion that this is a situation where because of your vulnerability you have been used by somebody in order for him to gain access to the disgusting photos.”

He placed her on a 60-day community order.  

The first-time offender has lived in a hostel for vulnerable adults since her arrest in May, last year.

None of the images relate to the children she was looking after.

The court heard Ede-Borrett no longer has any relationship with the man.

Electrician Gets Restraining Order

A six-foot-seven electrician has received a five-year restraining order, preventing him contacting a former landlord he was charged with assaulting and harassing.

Victor Hawes, 48, of St. Albans Road, Kingston-upon-Thames had always denied the charges and yesterday at Croydon Crown Court the case was withdrawn.

He had been charged with inflicting grievous bodily harm against the man on May 1; assaulting him on May 2 and harassing him between May 3 and May 18.

Not guilty verdicts were entered on all three counts.

Afterwards the complainant said: I agreed to a have a full injunction, as I could not face the idea of standing in court, and having to re live the whole scenario again.

“My main witnesses to the attacks were to frightened, worried to give statements or attend.”

GUILTY: BA Employee Convicted Of Groping Passenger On Flight

Guilty: Paul Speak

A drunken off-duty British Airways cabin crew employee groped a sleeping business-class passenger after catching the man’s eye on a long-haul flight to Bangkok.

Paul Speak, 47, touched the man between the legs at least twice and dramatically fainted on board the BA plane when the complaint was reported to him. 

Speak, of Hawkes close, Langley, Slough was found guilty of one count of sexual assault on October 12, last year.

He was bailed for sentencing on November 21.

“I believe I said: ‘What the f*** are you doing? Stay away’,” the passenger told Isleworth Crown Court.

Travelling alone, the man claims he caught Speak looking at him earlier. “It was a stare straight to me and a smile.”

He recalled three touches as he dozed in his seat. “The first time was the feeling of a light breeze on my thigh.

“I felt it again and saw the same guy walking back to his seat. “It was a light touch on my thigh, the inner thigh.

“Something happened again and I caught the hand. It was in the crotch area.”

The passenger says his penis was touched above his clothing.

“He mumbled and stumbled. I saw embarrassment on his face, shocked that he had been caught.

“I think that he might have been drunk.”

Prosecutor Miss Kathy Hirst told the jury: “The complainant, who was travelling alone, noticed another gentleman in a distinctive pink shirt walked down the aisle and ‘clocked’ him.

“There was eye-contact and he held his gaze.”

She said the the first incident occurred four hours after taking off from Heathrow, with Speak, a BA employee, using his staff points to fly.

“On two occasions the complainant says he was touched above clothing on his penis.

“He was woken by someone running his hand over his thigh area, near his crotch.

“He raised his eye mask and saw the man in the pink shirt retreating.

“It happened again forty minutes later. The hand went up towards his waistband and it seemed to be prolonged.

“He saw the same man in the pink shirt walking up the aisle.”

The passenger reported Speak to the cabin crew and a member of staff spoke to the defendant.

“It was obvious to her he was drunk and she told him a complaint had been made.

“His eyes rolled and he fainted and fell to the floor.”

Speak, who denied touching the passenger, was questioned by police on his return to the UK.

“He disputed he assaulted the complainant and accepted he was wearing a pink shirt.

“He said he forgot to take his medication for high blood pressure and had a few drinks before take-off and took a sleeping pill.”