Self-Promoting Socialite's £17,000 Benefits Scam

A notorious ex-magazine editor – the daughter of a millionaire property tycoon – whose recently published autobiography details her life as a doyenne of the media and art world created a web of deceit in a £17,000 benefit fraud.

Mother-of-two Farah Damji, 42, claimed her infamous criminal exploits were behind her in book ‘Try Me’ launched less than 24 hours before her appearance in the dock at Blackfriars Crown Court.

Damji, of Cardinal Mansions, Carlisle Place, Westminster, daughter of Asian property magnate Amir Damji, edited lifestyle magazine Another Generation, wrote for the Observer and New Statesman, was a Birmingham Post columnist and previously ran art galleries in Manhattan and East Hampton, New York.

“The prosecution’s case is this defendant orchestrated a planned fraud on landlords and then had the audacity to claim public benefits,” said Judge Aiden Marron QC. “She is a relatively sophisticated dishonest woman.”

The evening before, Damji partied the night away at the Guy Hilton Gallery, Shoreditch, venue of her book launch, before the celebration moved to the Golden Heart pub in trendy Spitalfields.

In a breathtaking display of self-promotion Damji even nominated herself for a New Statesman Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2008 Award - describing herself as an individual who has changed through her own diverse talents and created an enduring beauty “spreading light” as she goes.

The court heard she told landlords she was the £96,000 a year creative director of fashion company Moksa and owned a £3m Chelsea home with a non-existent husband who was a £100,000 per week property developer.

In fact the ‘husband’ was MySpace pal, American Francesco Miccolupo, who Damji had a fling with and used his bank account behind his back, claim the prosecution.

She pleaded guilty to dishonestly making false representations to landlords Alex and Alix Lentjes in relation to 73c Loftus Road, Shepherd’s Bush and to landlord Benjamin Hutton, owner of 2b Kilmaine Road, Hammersmith on or before October 3, last year.

She also admitted three counts of dishonestly making false representations to Hammersmith and Fulham Council in relation to both addresses, forging a Halifax Bank statement she gave letting agents ‘Lets’s Do Business’ and falsely representing Alex Lentjes was the holder of a specific account benefits were deposited in.

Damji will be sentenced following a Newton Hearing which will determine the extent of her dishonesty. Confiscation proceedings will follow.

She desperately tried to suppress reporting of the case, falsely claiming it would be contempt of court and when quizzed outside replied : “I don’t talk to scum.”

Prosecutor Miss Karen Robinson told the court £17,000 in housing and council tax benefit was paid to Damji, who left landlord Mr Lentjes £7,685 out of pocket and with a damaged flat following the defendant’s eviction on October 3, last year.

When Damji rented £350 per week 73c she claimed to be married Farah Miccolupo and was very edgy about providing reference details, explained Miss Robinson, even threatening a libel action against the letting agents she described as “liars”.

Eventually she was given the keys. “The landlord was left with the impression a couple were moving in and were in a position to pay for the flat.”

Rent was paid in a variety of ways and from a variety of sources, including Mr Miccolupo’s account, said Miss Robinson, adding an associate of Damji, Michael Hill, had his signature forged on one document he purported to witness.

Cheques bounced, one came from Moksa and another from an unknown source in relation to 73c which Damji even advertised for £400 per week on website Gumtree, behind her landlord’s back.

A similar fraud was hatched for the flat at 2b, but Damji was arrested by police on October 27, last year before the landlord suffered any loss.

Her lawyer, Nick Wrack, claimed his client was on income support at all times and entitled to housing benefit, but had to invent a new identity to hide her infamous criminal past.

She was hunting suitable accommodation to impress the Family Court she could house her 12 year-old son and daughter, aged 6. “The intention was to obtain tenancy, not expose landlords to loss,” added the lawyer.

Four years ago she absconded from Surrey’s Downsview Prison – where she was serving a 3 ½ year sentence for a  £50,000 credit card fraud – and became Britain’s first on-the-run blogger.

After failing to return to prison when released to attend an Open University tutorial for a sociology degree she kept the world up to date with her exploits on her MySpace page until arrested five days later.

The controversial socialite first came to public attention over her dalliance with travel writer William Dalrymple plus a fling with a Guardian executive and in a revealing Daily Mail interview detailed the ups and downs of the affair.

In October 2002 she stole her nanny Milla Salminen’s credit card and ran up a £3,903 bill with 61 purchases, including a stay at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Birmingham.

In October 2004, while on bail, she did the same with marketing assistant Darshika Mahavir who visited her house for a sales pitch, and her credit card was stolen by Damji to buy clothing worth £1,030 from Harvey Nichols.

The following month she stole a credit card from Rakhee Gokani, who was organising a magazine photo shoot for Another Generation’s front cover and her card was used 34 times for purchases amounting to £2,630.

She audaciously telephoned top-peoples jewellers Boodle and Dunthorne, posing as Daily Mail showbiz correspodent Kiki King’s assistant, and conned them out of two diamond and platinum rings worth £10,550.

Freelance journalist Ambarina Hasan’s credit card was stolen by Damji and used to open a savings account in the reporter’s name and obtain a £18,000 Sainsbury’s loan.

She also stole two credit cards and a driving licence from a friend, Nazia Soonsara, in a bid to steal her identity.

She pleaded guilty to twenty-five theft and deception charges plus two counts of perverting the course of justice when she told a witness not to appear in court, asked a prosecution barrister to drop the case and posed as then Home Secretary David Blunkett’s assistant in a bid to convince the Crown Prosecution Service pursuing the case was not in the public interest.

Her New York art career ended in disgrace with a six-month stint in tough Rikers Island prison for padding a certified cheque with extra zeroes and forging a court document ordering the seizure of her property.

She was accused in New York of an extensive and pathological crime spree, employing several aliases to rip-off artists, associates and was said to terrorize ex-boyfriends and continued her criminal behaviour in posh East Hampton following her release.

Would-Be Copper Thief's Bribe Bid

A would-be copper thief caught breaking into an electrical company's depot told a neighbour who dialled 999:"Look, there's money to be made if you keep quiet."

Jobless driver Paul Amores, 36, of Croydon Road, Beckenham pleaded guilty to going equipped for theft with a hacksaw and two spare blades in King Henry's Walk, Islington on June 12, last year.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard it was the early hours of the morning when a local resident was disturbed by the sound of sawing coming from an EDF Energy yard.

He told two shadowy figures to clear off and the larger of the two (Amores) shouted over his offer to share the loot before he was arrested by arriving police.

Officers found the hacksaw on Amores' accomplice, who later skipped bail and is wanted, and two extra blades were found in the pairs' car along with copper tubing from an unknown source.

Amores (pictured above) is currently serving a twenty-month sentence for over one hundred raids on commuters' cars at railway stations at Sidcup, Petts Wood, Mottingham, Orpington and Barnehurst.

The court was told Amores had led a largely crime-free life until early 2008 when a descent into heroin and crack abuse triggered his offending spree.

Sentencing him to four months imprisonment to run concurrently with the twenty month sentence Judge Aiden Marron QC told Amores: "It is clear the advent of 2008 saw a marked decline in your fortunes and a degeneration of your conduct."   

Eight-Day £10,000 Cashpoint Blitz Alleged

A Belfast French-Algerian accused of an ingenious £10,000-plus Transactional Reversal Fraud campaign on a building society's cashpoint machines appeared in custody at City of London Magistrates Court today (Tuesday).

Abdel Karim Redjel,30, of 25 Alveston Drive, Belfast was arrested by officers from the joint Metropolitan and City of London Police's Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit.

He faces twenty-three charges of stealing a total of £10,180 from the Coventry Building Society on various dates between May 25 and June 1, 2007 and attempting to steal an unknown sum from the society on June 2.

It is claimed Redjel has perfected a cashpoint technique whereby money is dispensed without the account being debited.

He will return to court on August 4 and is expected to be committed to Southwark Crown Court. 

M & S Sales Girl In £9K Fraud Charge

A Marks & Spencer's sales assistant, sacked following a probe by the firm's Fraud Investigation Department into missing money, appeared at City of London Magistrates Court today (Monday).

Chelsea Jefferies,22, of Larch House, Ainsty Estate, Rotherhithe is charged under the Fraud Act with dishonestly abusing her position, with intent to gain  £9,020.19, between February 6 and March 12 at the Fenchurch Street branch.

She was bailed unconditionally until September 14 when she is expected to be committed to Southwark Crown Court.

E-Pills Arrest For Graphic Designer Drop-Out

A graphic designer drop-out, with ambitions to join the Royal Marines, was caught by police with two ecstasy tablets when searched during the controversial G20 protest in the City of London.

Jobless James Metcalfe,36, who lives in a squat at 19 Avenue Crescent, Acton, pleaded guilty to unlawfully possessing the two pink tablets on April 1 in Prince’s Street, near the Bank of England.

City of London Magistrates Court was told today (Monday) Metcalfe queued to be searched by police at a cordon and the pills, which he claims were left over from a party over a year ago, were found in his camera case.

Metcalfe, who last worked as a graphic designer two years ago, before dropping out of the profession told JP’s he hoped to join the Royal Marines and was concerned the conviction would hurt his career chances.

He was conditionally discharged for six months and ordered to pay £100 costs.

Wealthy Celebs, Sport Pros And Businessmen Duped In £80m Con

Wealthy sports stars, high-profile businessmen and celebrities are among 600 victims of a £80million Ponzi scheme uncovered by City of London Police.

Detectives launched an unprecedented offensive to break the spell of a gang of financiers suspected of masterminding the massive swindle.

Investigators suspect at least 600 people around the world have lost huge sums to the gang of fraudsters behind the bogus high-yield fund.

But investigators have been struggling to win the support of victims who refuse to believe their life savings are gone.

Two men from Virginia Water, Surrey, John Anderson,43 and Kenneth Peacock,40 and Kautilya Nandan Pruthi,38 from Knightsbridge, central London, have been arrested and remain on bail.

They have been questioned on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud, money laundering and fraud by misrepresentation.

Officers remain in a desperate race to track down the missing money, some of which may be held in accounts in Dubai, the Cayman Islands and Thailand.

They have seized assets worth about £1million, including jewellery and watches, as well as £250,000 cash. 

But the finds are just a small portion of the missing cash and earlier this week police seized an £800,000 stable of eight prestige cars including a Lamborghini, two Ferraris - a 612 Scaglietti and F430 Spider - a Rolls Royce, Maserati and two Bentley's from a West Sussex dealership.

Senior officers took the unusual step of holding a series of meetings at the City force's headquarters for hundreds of people embroiled in the fraud.

During a series of highly-charged presentations they faced down angry claims that their inquiry is responsible for the collapse of the fund.

Officers outlined some of the evidence against the gang and asked victims to fill in statements and compensation claims.

Det Supt Bob Wishart, of City of London Police's fraud squad, said many victims cannot accept people they trust have cheated them.

"These victims have been totally hoodwinked. They have been befriended and groomed by the bad guys," explained the officer. "They think these people are friends and they have placed complete trust and have given over a lot of personal information and it is very difficult to break that link of trust.

"Consequently we get this situation where we find they do not believe us. That is the power of the fraudster. Even though they have been arrested and we have searched their homes and offices and closed them down, the victims still do not believe anything is wrong.

"It is only by taking this robust stance and seizing everything we can that you start to make inroads. It is a house of cards once you get a bit of momentum."

Many of the victims were introduced by family members, friends and business associates they met at wealthy sports clubs and upmarket West End bars.

Police said several victims have already lost their homes, others have been declared bankrupt and some have attempted suicide.

Two families lost huge sums of money they had saved from years of benefits to help pay for the long-term care of their disabled children.

The criminal investigation focuses on Knightsbridge-based finance firm Business Consulting International (BCI) of Relton Mews and several companies linked to it.

Police believe a gang of men ran a fraudulent and unregulated investment scheme offering returns of between 6 per cent and 13 per cent a month for up to four years.

Clients were told the money was loaned to 'distressed' companies who needed short term cash and were willing to pay for it.

But it began to unravel when some payments were missed and people alerted the financial authorities to their suspicions and officials at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) began examining regulatory breaches before referring the case to police.

Detectives found the fraud was similar to many Ponzi schemes where a small amount of investor money is used to pay returns This leads clients to believe their money is safely invested encouraging them to put more money in and encouraging others to follow them.

However, the vast bulk of the money disappeared overseas or is used to fund the lavish lifestyles of a small number of people behind the conspiracy.

Fourteen Month Rape Campaign Alleged

A Harrow man accused of a fourteen-month rape campaign against a woman allegedly attacked repeatedly in a Pimlico flat, appeared for the first time at City of London Magistrates' Court today (Friday).

Mohammed Nazrul Islam,34, of 183 Eastcote Lane, is accused of vaginal, anal and oral rape at Stubbs House, Erasmus Street and was sent in custody for trial at Southwark Crown Court.

He faces five counts of raping the woman on various dates between May 1, 2008 and July 11, this year and indecently assaulting her on July 15.

Loser Blames Miserable Life On Non-Whites

A jobless loser - who lived in misery with his mum and dad - trawled the internet for online romance and made homemade bombs in his lonely bedroom to arm himself in a white supremacy campaign of terror.

Unemployed Neil Lewington, 43, had not uttered a word to his father in ten years at the family home in Tilehurst, Reading where police found weedkiller, firelighters, three tennis balls with diagrams on how to convert them into shrapnel bombs, firework powder, electrical timers and detonators.

He was carrying components for two home-made bombs when arrested last October at Lowestoft Station, Suffolk for abusing a female train conductor en route to an internet date. 

"Neil Lewington clearly set out to make viable devices which could have seriously injured or possibly killed members of the public going about their daily lives," said Metropolitan Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner John McDowall.

A notebook labelled "Waffen SS UK members' handbook" included a "device logbook" of drawings of electronics and chemical mixtures was also seized by investigators.

Prosecutor Brian Altman QC told the Old Bailey, where Lewington will be sentenced later : "This man, who had strong if not fanatical right-wing leanings and opinions, was on the cusp of embarking on a campaign of terrorism against those he considered non-British.

"The defendant had in his possession the component parts of two viable improvised incendiary devices.

"He had the parts which, if assembled together, would have created devices which if ignited would have caught alight and caused flames and fire.

"Later searches of the house where the defendant lived, in particular his own bedroom, revealed nothing short of a factory for the production of many such similar devices."

DAC McDowall added: "Whilst our inquiries did not uncover any details about intended targets, we do not underestimate the impact that Lewington's actions and extremist beliefs may have had on communities nationwide."

His online chats did not always impress the ladies. He told one would-be date : "The only good paki is a dead paki."

The jury convicted him of seven of eight explosives and terrorism charges, rejecting his defence of being more of an oddball than a danger to the public.

"Gut 'Em" Knifeman Binned

A late-night knifeman, who armed himself with 10" blade to hunt down disrespecting youths with the rallying cry: "C'mon we're gonna gut 'em," was jailed for six months today (Friday).

Father-of-five Adrian Sandy,29, was high on a cocktail of booze and cocaine when he went hunting for the group who branded his girlfriend fat as the couple enjoyed an all-night drinking session.

Plasterer Sandy pleaded guilty to possessing a bladed article in Putney High Street, Putney on June 13.

"You selected a very large and threatening weapon and went out looking for those who insulted your friend," Kingston Crown Court Recorder James Price QC told Sandy.

"You were looking for a confrontation and took with you a knife while intoxicated with alcohol and cocaine," added the QC. "You created a highly dangerous situation and it was highly unnecessary."

The court heard it was 2.30am when a delivery driver spotted an angry and aggressive black man wielding a large knife getting into a silver Vauxhall Cavalier.

He called 999 after hearing a shout from the vehicle of: "C'mon we're gonna gut 'em."

Officers stopped the vehicle and Sandy admitted the large kitchen knife was his, confessing he picked it up at his girlfriend's home minutes earlier after being abused in the street.

"Such situations end up with very young men seriously injured or worse," added Recorder Price.

 

City Party King's Job-Loss Leap Of Death

A young City star - 'living the dream' - leapt to his death from a landmark rooftop restaurant, dressed in his best suit and clutching a flute of champagne, two days after his suspension from a leading bank.

Anjool Malde,24, feared the axe from Deutsche Bank and fell to his death on on July 5 from the eighth-floor terrace of Coq d'Argent at No. 1 Poultry - near the Bank of England.

The Oxford-graduate was co-founder of AlphaParties - which specialised in organizing bashes for young professionals in Mayfair and Kensington - and had advertised his own upcoming 25th birthday at an exclusive Soho club.

Party-loving Malde (pictured with ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell at the Oxford Union) was suspended by bosses at 3pm on Friday July 3 following "an inquiry into an IT matter" and told not to return until called in.

Known as 'Jools' to pals Malde held more than twenty positions of responsibility in various societies, was a serial online entrepreneur, a teenage BBC arts and music reviewer, worked in editorial with Oxford's two newspapers and presented the news on student radio.

Shattered Oz Dream Sparks Revenge Fraud

An American Express rep whose Australian Dream was shattered when he lost his job to a native embarked on a  £67,000 revenge spending spree after claiming the credit card firm "ruined" his life.

Luke Colley,21, admitted blowing cash belonging to 14 of his clients within eight days of getting a job as a customer services representative and was jailed for 15 months at the Old Bailey.

The spree included a £5,000 deposit for an exclusive Wimbledon debenture pass, a club class BA flight to Amsterdam, mobile phones, computer games and dozens of concert tickets.

Bitter Colley's ill-gotten booty was shipped to his parents house in Sompting, West Sussex under a false name and to another address in nearby Ifield.

He told police he was angry with AMEX after being forced to reluctantly reurn to the U.K. after spending a year in Australia when the company axed him in favour of a local, but managed to get a customer service job with the firm on his return.

Over the next four months - while employed to look after corporate travel accounts - he used confidential information to access client accounts and fraudulently buy goods over the internet.

A total of 14 accounts were used and a total of £86,199 went missing but only £67,731.85 could be traced to Colley who bought a five-year All England Club debenture ticket which he put up for auction on eBay.

Colley pleaded guilty to fraud by abuse of trust and possession of articles for use in fraud.

Football Thug Kills Rival With Fatal Blow

A Sunday league football thug who killed an opponent with a single punch, following a bed-tempered match, was locked-up for twenty-eight months today (Monday).

The post-match brawl kicked off after the final whistle was blown on Kingshill Town's 4-3 defeat by Old Greenfordians in the Hayes and District Sunday Football League Division One match.

Victim Stephen Ritchie,43, (pictured with grandaughter Isabella) had been sent off for shoving an opponent and the Brentford father-of-three was tragically killed by a single blow from behind delivered with such force his head twisted round, rupturing arteries.

Thug Darren Forwood,21, of Frays Avenue, West Drayton pleaded guilty at the Old Bailey to manslaughter at Little Harlington playing fields, Sipson Lane, Hayes, Midlesex on November 30, last year.

Prosecutor Mr Timothy Cray told the hearing, attended by Mr Ritchie's partner Tracie, his mother, daughter and brother, that the victim was "utterly defenceless' to the violent blow delivered by booked Forwood who has previous for assault and affray.

Tempers flared as Kingshill Town, 3-0 up at half-time, crashed to a 4-3 defeat at the hands of Old Greenfordians - with Mr Ritchie singled out by some angry opponents as the reason for their loss.

"Some of the players from both teams were trying to form a physical barrier but this defendant Darren Forwood came round the back of the barrier," explained Mr Cray.

"He came up behind the victim and Mr Ritchie who couldn’t have sighted him was utterly defenceless as the blow was given. The blow was delivered with sufficient force to knock Mr Ritchie off his feet."

Judge Jeremy Roberts told Forwood : "This arose out of a football match which had degenerated into aggression and violence on both sides, which spilled over from the pitch and off the pitch.

"There is too much of this kind of violence around at the moment and it has to be made clear that people who behave in that way will receive severe sentences.

"These cases are always tragedies for everybody on both sides. You have ruined not just somebody else's life by what you have done, but you have also seriously damaged your own and your family's. We see this all too often here - mindless violence."

Gambler's £100,000 Losses Spark Slots Rampage

A luckless punter who blew £100,000 gambling smashed three video slot machines during a violent rampage in his local bookies after yet another losing run.

Punters and staff looked on in disbelief as angry 26 year-old Alek Gjjekaj, who had started feeding  £200 into four slot machines simultaneously, picked up a stool and smashed three of them, in a  £15,000 wrecking spree.

Scaffolder Gjjekaj pleaded guilty to causing criminal damage to the slots in his local Coral's Bookmakers, Clapham High Street, Clapham on December 15, last year.

Inner London Crown Court heard gambling addict  Gjjekaj had blown £100,000 and was still £30,000 in debt due to betting which also wrecked the relationship he had with the mother of his nine month-old child.

Prosecutor Mr James Benson told the court Coral's staff took £200 cash out of the defendant's bank card which he then began feeding into the four machines, becoming increasingly angry and frustrated at the lack of a pay-out.

"He picked up a stool to chest height and smashed it down on the first machine," explained Mr Benson. "He continued to smash two more machines ignoring the shouts of the manager."

Gjjekaj fled, but was traced through his bank card and when quizzed by police admitted he was angry about losing money on the video machines.

He was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for two years, placed under probation supervision for two years and ordered to pay £5,000 compensation and pay £150 costs.

 

Dozy Burglar Kips On Job

Dozy burglar Richard Parsons was caught napping by police during a nighttime break-in, after kipping in an upstairs bedroom - his pockets stuffed with valuables.

The homeless 37 year-old had already alerted neighbours after noisily smashing his way into the smart house, causing  £1,500 worth of damage.

He pleaded guilty at Blackfriars Crown Court to burgling 96 Highgate Road, Kentish Town on April 4 stealing a £300 watch, antique scent bottle, brass cigarette lighter, bottle opener, WW2 tea and sugar box, silver pocket watch and chain and a games console.

The court heard Parsons, on a suspended sentence for a similar domestic burglary, tried to break his way through the front door before smashing the bay windows and gaining access.

After rifling through the house he fell asleep on the bedroom floor and was quickly arrested by police called to the scene.

Luckless Parsons misfortune continued with an embarrassing medical condition forcing him to wear a nappy while on remand at Wandsworth Prison and being at the mercy of teasing inmates during showers.

“The people of this country deserve protection,” Judge John Hillen told Parsons, jailing him for two-and-a-half years plus six months for breaching the suspended sentence.

“The invasion of other people’s homes is not to be tolerated,” added the Judge.

Snubbed Nightclubber's Rape Bid

An angry nightclubber snubbed by a flirty blonde - thirteen years his senior - during a boozy evening out was caught with his trousers down, after trailing the victim home and trying to rape her, a court heard today (Monday).

The woman, who had downed a cocktail of of lager, whiskey and wine, and admits she smooched with the stranger who chatted her up at the late-night club screamed "rape" and was rescued by police alerted by worried neighbours.

John Cheruiyot,37, denies attempting to rape and indecently assaulting the 50 year-old outside Samuel Lewis Trust Buildings, Vanston Place, Fulham in the early hours of January 21, 2004.

Blackfriars Crown Court was told the victim walked alone to the nearby Havana Bar, in Fulham Road just before midnight following an all-day family get-together celebrating her sister's birthday.

"She had a fair amount to drink that evening and by this time she was feeling very drunk indeed," prosecutor Mr Toby Fitzgerald told the jury. "She was flattered by the attentions of the defendant, who was much younger and she kissed him in the nightclub."

The woman snubbed Cheruiyot's offer to go back to his place, but was confronted by him outside her home at 2.15am. 

"He appeared angry and told her she had led him on and then left the club," explained Mr Fitzgerald. "He pushed her to the ground then pulled her jeans halfway down and pulled her knickers down."

Neighbours called 999 after hearing the woman's cries of "rape" and when officers quizzed Cheruiyot he claimed his trousers were hanging off because they were simply too big for him.

The trial is expected to last four days.

Tamberlin Bully-Boys Shoot The Messenger

Powerful friends and colleagues of hit-run drink-driver Leyton Tamberlin, the wealthy finance guru, who crashed into a taxi - fracturing a tourist's skull - have forced the axing of the Oxford graduate's photo from this site.

Claiming copyright the mystery complainant threw their weight behind the caged criminal's damaged reputation and talked blogspot into withdrawing the photo - despite it's open availability on the internet.

The 32 year-old Investment Professional with Mayfair's prestigious TDR Capital, of 8 Lancaster Stables, Lambolle Place, Hampstead, was jailed for eight months at Blackfriars Crown court for driving dangerously in Finchley Road, Hampstead on August 15, last year. (Story posted below).

His sentence provoked worldwide outrage (see comments posted on Daily Mail website) after it was revealed he was over double the drink-drive limit after drinking wine, cocktails and a martini during an all-day corporate bash at the posh Metropolitan Hotel.

For photo of Tamberlin visit telegraph.co.uk and type his name into the search bar.

 

Drunken Estate Agent Crashes Into Angry Football Mob

A high-flying young estate agent – tipped for the top at a leading firm selling multi-million pound properties – lost his career and liberty after drunkenly driving into a mob of angry football fans, shattering one man’s leg.

Edward Jephson,28, a sales negotiator for  the exclusive Westminster and Pimlico neighbourhoods with Douglas and Gordon Estate Agents was jailed for fifteen months.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard Jephson, of Elspeth Road, Clapham, ignored a police cordon and drove on the wrong side of the road into a crowd of angry Chelsea football fans, disgruntled at their teams penalty shoot-out defeat to Manchester United in last year’s Champions League Final.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving in Fulham Broadway, Fulham on May 21 last year and later gave an alcohol breath-test of 93 – over two-and-a-half-times the legal limit.

“This is about as bad a case of dangerous driving as can me imagined,” Judge David Martineau told suited Jephson (pictured above right) who was supported in court by his parents and girlfriend of three years Elouise Thompson, a Mayfair p.a.

“You got into your car in Clapham while clearly drunk and drove towards Stamford Bridge where you drove past a police cordon which had been placed in the road to protect football supporters.

“You did not stop, but drove into them at 10mph, striking two of them and seriously injuring one. You are extremely fortunate not to be facing a charge of ABH or GBH,” added the Judge.

The angry supporters who had packed pubs and bars near the stadium to watch the Moscow final turned on Jephson, who was punched in the face and his VW Golf vandalized.

The Director of Douglas and Gordon, James French, told the court in a statement Jephson made a “significant contribution to sales” and was making a name for himself at the Pimlico office after nine years in the profession.

“He had been muted as a future manager,” said Mr James Harrison, defending. “His promotion is now on hold and he will lose his job if jailed.”

Prosecutor Mr Jai Patel told the court a witness dialed 999 after spotting an obviously drunken Jephson staggering in Elspeth Road at 11pm and struggling with a friend trying to stop him driving.

He was next seen by police approaching Fulham Broadway, where an angry mob were throwing bottles and missiles at officers.

“He drove around a police van and on the wrong side of a traffic island,” explained Mr Patel. “He braked then accelerated towards the crowd on the wrong side of the road, knocking people off their feet and causing others to jump out of the way.”

The VW eventually stopped and was attacked by the crowd with a “staggering” Jephson saved by police.

The defendant asked the arresting officers: “What have I done? Where am I.”

Victim Keith Lockhart suffered a fracture to his tibia and fibula when run down from behind and Sam Filtman later went to hospital with extensive grazes.

 “Mr Jephson looks back on these events with a tremendous sense of shame,” Mr Harrison told the court. “He feels his good character is blemished forever.

“The events will be forever with him and he will never forget what he did in a moment of foolishness.”

The defendant suffers panic attacks and was also depressed that day, added the lawyer, revealing Jephson was driving to his brother’s home near the stadium.

The loss off his job would also almost certainly mean Jephson would also lose his flat because there is nobody to pay the mortgage.

Jephson was also disqualified from driving for three years. A charge of failing to supply a breath-test because he failed to blow a second time was dropped.

Corruption Charges in $40m UN Development Programme

Two ex-United Nations consultants and a solicitor, accused of plotting to collect bribes in relation to a massive $40m pharmaceutical contract to an impoverished third-world country, appeared at City of London Magistrates Court today (Tuesday).

Dutchmen Sijbrandus Arthur Scheffer,56, of  West View Road, Swanley, Kent and Guido Gerbrant Bakker,35, of De Voortweg, Tandon, Netherlands are former consultants to the United Nations Development Programme.

Scheffer is the President and Bakker the Director of World Response, a registered U.K. charity and a United States non-profit.

Solicitor Patrick Neale Orr,41, of  Beaconsfield Road, Surbiton, Surrey, is a partner in a West End Firm.

The three men appeared following a two-year investigation by the City of London Police’s Overseas Anti-Corruption Unit in relation to Global Fund Aid money overseen by the United Nations Development Programme and earmarked for the Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Danish-based pharmaceutical company - Missionpharma - which supplies life-saving generic HIV and malaria drugs has also been probed.

All three are charged with conspiring together to corruptly obtain consideration between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2007 in regard to ensuring the award of a $40m contract to supply pharmaceuticals to the Democratic Republic of Congo.

They also face two charges of conspiring to money launder between January 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007 in relation to $400,000 and an unspecified sum.

Finally, all three are also charged with fraudulent trading between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2007 in relation to H & C Consultants Ltd which traded for a fraudulent purpose, namely money laundering.

All three men were bailed unconditionally to appear at Southwark Crown Court on August 25.

Finance Guru Jailed For Drunken Taxi Smash

A finance expert who crashed into a taxi, fracturing a passenger’s skull, following an all-day corporate drinking session at a Mayfair hotel was jailed for eight months on Friday.

Oxford-graduate Layton Tamberlin,32, who was over double the drink-drive limit wrestled with his blazing Audi as it careered at speed along a busy nighttime road, after writing-off the black cab.

Tamberlin, of Lancaster Stables, Lambolle Place, Hampstead, is an Investment Professional with TDR Capital – a top asset management firm – of 1 Stanhope Gate, Mayfair and holds fourteen Company Directorships and Secretarials.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard married Tamberlin – who studied mathematics at Oxford – and described as the moral compass of his ex-university chums – downed wine, cocktails and a martini in the Metropolitan Hotel bar.

He pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving with excess alcohol and failing to stop after an accident in Finchley Road, Hampstead on August 15, last year.

Father-of-one Tamberlin,  whose wife is pregnant with their second child claims a boozy work colleague, later arrested after the collision for being drunk and disorderly, distracted him causing the crash.

Judge John Hillen told suited Tamberlin : “Your driving was quite terrifying. You had been drinking on and off from 1.30pm in the course of business entertainment and your friend was so drunk he was not acceptable into any taxi.

“You made a decision that was inexplicable, but it was made knowing what you had drunk. You are an intelligent man. You know the limits. You were twice the limit and drove that car for five miles.”

Prosecutor Miss Emma Jones told the court it was just after 9pm when taxi driver Sam Deering picked up Canadian tourist Funbi Taiwo,47, who suffered a fractured skull, bleeding around the brain a perforated eardrum and needed eight stitches to his forehead.

“The taxi driver suddenly heard a massive sound of crashing metal and was thrown forward in his seat and his taxi was shunted into a parked car.

“He saw a dark coloured Audi swerving from side to side with flames coming from the underside. It was making off at a fast speed,” she explained.

The victim had been entering the cab when it was struck from behind. “From getting in the next thing he remembers is lying on the ground bleeding from a head wound,” added Miss Jones.

The Audi S6 estate drove another 600 yards into Greenway Gardens where security guard Pushkar Gurling spotted it. “The car was all over the place and could have hit anyone it was being driven so eratically,” he told police.

The witness pulled the defendant out of the blazing vehicle along with colleague Max Herbertstein. “The passenger was so drunk he couldn’t stand up and then the car burst into flames,” said Miss Jones.

When quizzed by police first-time-offender Tamberlin claimed he hit a lamppost, and told officers he felt sober enough to drive. His breath test of 81 was over double the legal limit of 35.

Tamberlin hired Q.C. Patrick Gibbs in a bid to avoid prison. “He made two inexplicable decisions. The first was to drive and the second was not to stop after the accident.”

“He is a decision-maker which makes these decisions all the more odd. He is clearly a talented man who leads an industrious life and explodes it in forty-five minutes of madness on the Finchley Road,” added the Q.C., urging the Judge to suspend any jail term.

Judge Hillen told Tamberlin : You were distracted by your passenger which effectively led you to losing control of the car befuddled as you were by drink.

“You knew you had an accident and you knew your car was on fire. You were in Central London in a busy thoroughfare driving a vehicle that was ablaze.”

The Judge also jailed the defendant for three months for drink-driving, plus two months for failing to stop to run concurrently with the eight month sentence and disqualified him from driving for five years.

“You should be thoroughly ashamed of yourself. Up until now you have had an outstanding character and led an industrious life. You are highly intelligent and talented.
“The suffering you have brought to your wife, family and friends are at your door,” added the Judge.

Patient's walkabout ends in tube train death horror

A Coroner found it “astonishing” a suicidal psychiatric patient who brushed past City commuters and threw himself in front of a tube train was allowed to roam free by doctors at a flagship emergency ward.

Jobless Anthony Simkin, 46, of Cornwallis Court, Lansdowne Green, South Lambeth triggered an internal probe by South London and Maudsley NHS foundation Trust who admit mistakes were made.

Mr Simkin suffered fatal multiple injuries at Monument Underground Station on June 24 last year when struck by a westbound District Line tube train.

He simply walked out of the Trust’s Luther King Ward in Landor Road, Stockwell after bungling psychiatrists approved the patient for unescorted leave.

City of London Coroner’s Court heard depressed heroin addict Mr Simkin had previously overdosed on prescription drugs and slashed his wrists three weeks before his death, requiring a blood transfusion at St. Thomas’s Hospital.

“That does seem rather astonishing,” said Coroner Paul Matthews. “He had made three attempts on his life before this.

“They were not cries for help. They were serious attempts on his life. You don’t throw yourself in front of a train if you are not serious.”

Mr Simkin had been sectioned under the Mental Health Act after the wrist-slashing incident and housed at Luther King Ward a Lambeth residents-only unit which prides itself on being a : “Safe and therapeutic environment for clients.”

Trust supervisor Claudia Fullalove told the Tuesday hearing an internal enquiry was launched to investigate errors in the case and changes have been made to their procedures.

“I think there were a number of missed opportunities during his period of care,” she admitted. “Mr Simkin seemed to fall below the radar. They underestimated his level of risk.”

She conceded there was no in-depth risk assessment within seventy-two hours of Mr Simkin being admitted – flouting Luther King Ward’s own procedures.

“They felt he did not present with significant risk. The doctors and nurses believed he was showing signs of improvement,” added the supervisor.

 Community mental health nurse Jane Eastaway, based at a different Lambeth clinic the patient regularly visited, had urged the sectioning of Mr Simkin, but felt a mere three weeks was way too early to allow him out.

“I thought it was really soon,” she told the inquest. “I felt anxious he was getting unescorted leave before his medical improvement.”

However, she did not make a fuss. “It is difficult because there is a consultant above me who has made the decision. I did not directly challenge anyone on that.”

The inquest was adjourned until a future date so the psychiatrists who allowed Mr Simkin’s unescorted leave can be called to give evidence.         

Detectives hunt suspect in £10m mortgage fraud probe

Detectives hunting the ringleader of a  £10 million-plus mortgage fraud have released a photograph of an unknown suspect they wish to quiz.

City of London Police raided five businesses in the capital in their search for fraudsters behind the scam which targeted well-known high street banks in 2007 and last year.

DC Julian Brown of the force's Economic Crime Department said : "Our enquiries have so far failed to positively identify a woman (pictured right) who has used the names Joanne Pier and Zoe Fletcher.

"We would appeal for anybody who knows of her whereabouts to get in touch with City of London Police."

The suspect is aged 30 to 35, 5 feet 5" tall with connections in London and Scotland and may speak with a South African accent.