Unlucky Thirteen Bogus Identities For Jailed Benefit Fraudster

A housing benefit fraudster, who created thirteen separate identities during a five-year £90,000 scam, was jailed for two years today.

Jobless Emmanuel Ikem, 27, of Godstone Road, Kenley, Croydon forged birth certificates, tenancy agreements, utility bills and other documents.

He also had a sideline in insurance fraud, pocketing another £8,000 in payouts for non-existent injuries, but was exposed when his unsuspecting parents reported all the suspicious correspondence arriving at the family home.

"You dedicated considerable effort and thought into your dishonesty," Croydon Crown Court Judge Jeremy Gold QC told tearful Ikem. "It is a shame that did not go into some lawful activity.

"You chose the opposite and chose dishonesty to support yourself over a long period of time, defrauding the public."

Ikem pleaded guilty to thirteen counts of defrauding Croydon Council out of housing benefit payments between February 20, 2007 and June 30, this year.

He also pleaded guilty to three counts of concealing criminal property between March 1, 2007 and June 30, this year and to one count of converting criminal property between April 16, last year and March 1.

Ikem also asked for three offences of insurance fraud committed on February 11, 2009; April 11, 2011 and March 5, this year to be taken into consideration.

"This case involves a fraud in which the defendant made false claims for housing benefit in thirteen different identities and utilised bank accounts to receive the proceeds of these frauds," said prosecutor Mr. Julius Capon.

"The defendant made multiple applications for housing benefit and provided false documents that required considerable planning and he falsified documents to show that he was at those addresses."

Ikem made claims on properties he controlled, were derelict or occupied by an unsuspecting resident.

"A similar style of documents were used, which is how the defendant was linked to all these crimes," added Mr. Capon.

When arrested in June Ikem denied everything, but the prosecutor described it as: "Fraudulent from the outset, sophisticated, pre-planned and prolonged."

Describing his client as a "church-going young father" Ikem's lawyer Mr. Alistair Polson said: "The impact which the whole investigation and court proceedings have been significant.

"He is one of those people whose life got so intertwined, starting with cannabis and then these frauds, that he found being stopped and arrested as a great benefit to him.

"What has happened to Mr. Ikem has taken a great toll on the family."

Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings will follow.

CCTV Robber Caught During Crime Spree

An armed robber has been jailed for fourteen years for a convenience store crime-spree one month after a terrifying home-invasion.

Leon Young, 24, targetted shops in Dagenham and Ilford, East London – holding up five stores in January – and netting around £4,000 in cash.

He admitted the robberies and was convicted by a Chelmsford Crown Court jury of an aggravated burglary in Harlow, Essex in December, last year.

Young received eight years imprisonment for the hold-ups, plus another six years for the burglary.

He had been arrested in February by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad.

Young threatened shop staff with a handgun and demanded cash and other goods.

Detective Sergeant Scott Chimes of the Flying Squad said: “I would like to thank the victims and witnesses for the courage they displayed in assisting in this protracted investigation.

“Young has never personally showed any remorse for the frightening crimes he committed during December 2011 to January 2012.

“The sentence passed by Recorder Laird QC sends out a clear deterrent message to those considering committing similar offences.

“I would like to assure businesses and the public within London that the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad will continue to seek out and arrest those engaged in such serious crimes and bring them to justice.”

'Doctor' Gets 12 Years For Raping Schoolgirl

A self-styled doctor and former college principal, who groomed an eleven year-old schoolgirl with internet pornography before raping her in his office, was jailed for twelve years yesterday.

Father-of-three Kamil Hossenbux, 62, who passed himself off as a learned, successful businessman with a phd, gained the trust of the girl's family, even collecting her from school on the day he raped her.

Mauritian-born Hossenbux, of Ferns Close, South Croydon was convicted of raping, sexually assaulting and inciting the girl to engage in sexual activity at his property in Elmwood Road, West Croydon on September 22, 2010.

"I believe this was a case of deception of the family, who believed you to be a friend and benefactor. You passed yourself off as a man of substance, a doctor, but in reality you had a rather grubby criminal record," Croydon Crown Court Judge Ruth Downing told Hossenbux.

"You were going round there because you were intensely interested and obsessed with her. When she was not even eleven you tried it on with her and when rebuffed waited later until she started secondary school.

You are guilty of self-deception in your belief, some sort of perverted belief, that she was ready to learn about sex at the age of eleven and you set about attempting to do that."

Contrary to his family man image the defendant also had an online dating profile, (pic.bottom) seeking relationships with women aged eighteen to thirty-five.

Hossenbux had made online searches for sick under-age material throughout the day, before collecting the victim from school, on the pretext she could use a computer at his private language college.

Prosecutor Miss Karen Holt told the jury the defendant knew the girl's family. "They saw him as an older, learned, intelligent man, who helped the family fill-out documentation and forms.

"He was a trusted friend and began to call on the family home regularly and the Crown say this allowed him to gain access to the victim.

"When alone with her in his car there was an element of grooming and he made suggestive comments to her that she was a big girl now and should start to learn about sex.

"He would hold her hand and touched her leg on one occasion and said it was time she learned about it.

"To use her words they: 'snogged' and he took her clothes off," explained Miss Holt. "She had to sit on a table and he told her to open her legs wide."

The prosecution say Hossenbux then performed a sex act on the girl and forced her to perform one on him.

"The defendant then lied down on the floor and told her to lie on top of him," added the prosecutor, saying this is when the rape occurred.

Hossenbux's lawyer Miss Andrea Ferguson told the court: "He has accepted his guilt of the offences, but he does not go so far as to accept the rape, but does accept much of the other allegations.

"He feels a great deal of regret for the trauma he put this girl through and did not appreciate at the time its seriousness.

"He has not found his first experience of custody easy and his family have been utterly devastated by this conviction. The offence is shocking and distasteful.

"At the time of the offences there were difficulties in his marriage and his wife is now devastated by his incarceration and what has happened."

Hossenbux was also placed on the sex offenders register for life and made subject to a sexual offences prevention order restricting his contact with children and internet use.

Boozy Christmas Party Back Garden Bash

An engineer, who viciously beat a colleague at a works Christmas party, leaving the victim with a collapsed lung, dodged jailed with a suspended sentence today.

Father-of-two John Garratt, 34, (pictured) of Juniper Lane, Flackwell Heath, High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, admitted the alcohol-fuelled attack and must now attend anger-management classes.

He pleaded guilty at Croydon Crown Court to inflicting grievous bodily harm on Glenn Smith in the rear garden of an address in Round Grove, Shirley on December 10, last year.

“This was an unpleasant, pretty thorough going over of Mr. Smith,” said Judge Ruth Downing, sentencing Garratt to 11 months imprisonment, suspended for eighteen months.

The court heard employees had gathered at the suburban home of one of the firm's bosses and during the evening the defendant, who had been drinking, challenged Mr. Smith to step into the garden.

The victim, who believes a dispute over pay may have been the issue that angered Garratt, was then subjected to an attack with fists and feet.

He sustained bruising all over his body and at one point felt he could not breathe, with doctors later confirming he suffered a collapsed lung as a result of blows to the body.

Garratt initially denied the offence, complaining he had also suffered injuries, but pleaded guilty after the judge indicated the sentence she would pass.

“It has caused him tremendous shame and embarrassment,” Garratt's lawyer Mr. Richard Storey told the court. “He has let himself, his family and his friends down. It is so out of character for him.

“Alcohol was linked to the behaviour, but it is not a problem and he has not had a drink since this incident or gone out socialising.”

Garratt was also ordered to perform 200 hours community serice work, obey a four-month night time curfew, attend an anger management course, pay £660 costs and £750 compensation to Mr. Smith.

Man Denies Murdering Pregnant Ex

A man accused of murdering his heavily pregnant ex-girlfriend and causing the death of their unborn daughter, pleaded not guilty at the Old Bailey yesterday.

Tony McLernon, 23, of North Grove, Harlow, was remanded in custody until his trial at Chelmsford Crown Court on February 18 next year.

Appearing at court number one, dressed in a blue tracksuit top and jeans, McLernon only spoke to confirm his identity and enter his pleas during the thirteen-minute hearing.

He pleaded not guilty to murdering of 20-year-old Estyna Blunnie (pictured) and one count of child destruction on June 27.

Estyna, of Halling Hill, was found fatally injured on the roadside in Howard Way shortly before 3am on Wednesday, June 27.

She died from severe head injuries.

She was taken to Princess Alexandra Hospital but doctors were unable to save her or her unborn baby, who she planned to call Mia Rose.

Members of her family attended the Old Bailey, but did not sit in court because they are witnesses in the case.

One relative, who will not be giving evidence, was given permission by the judge to enter and listen to the proceedings.

Laptop Cocaine Smuggler Jailed

A South African cocaine smuggler – who had the drug sown onto her laptop case – is starting a fourteen-and-a-half year sentence after being caught at Gatwick Airport.

Claudia Yvonne Schade, 43, was sentenced shortly after her travel companion Susan Margaret Thompson, 63, of Albermarle Road, Beckenham was cleared of the same offence.

She denied, but was convicted at Croydon Crown Court of importing 6.46 kilos of cocaine on April 3 as she stepped off a flight from Trinidad and tobago.

“It was a very large and every expensive amount of cocaine,” the jury were told. “It was secreted in each of these defendants laptop cases.”

The laptop cases were in the women's suitcases and were searched by the UK Border Agency.

The court also heard in recent times Schade, a woman of previous good character, had travelled to Japan and made other international trips.

Islamic Tutor Cleared Of Groping Student

An Islamic teacher, accused of a sex attack on one of his female students in a public park, was cleared of the charge today after the trial judge ruled the complaint was motivated by religious tradition and custom rather than any sexual act.

Akram Almaged, 48, (pictured) of Orchard Close, Dollis Hill, denied sexually assaulting the 27 year-old woman in Fryent Country Park, Kingsbury on August 7, last year.

Harrow Crown Court heard ex-University of Tehran lecturer Almaged taught 18-20 students at his home, including the complainant, who arrived at the address with fruit and sweet meats on the day of the alleged assault.

They went for a walk and she told the jury she fainted four times as they strolled around the park and as she came around the first time she was lying on the ground with the defendant's jacket under her head.

She claimed he placed his hand on the upper part of the left-side of her chest and then caressed her lips, cheek and hair and in her original statement told police the defendant's palm was on her breast as he moved his other hand towards her hip.

The woman told police Almaged proposed marriage to her and told her: "I love you. You are good. Are you with me?"

She said she was "shocked" by the defendant's behaviour and walked in the opposite direction when he tried to intice her towards some bushes.

They returned to Almaged's address, where the woman said he demanded a photo of her and she felt obliged to hand one over just to get out of the house.

However, she returned that night for a lecture with other students and it took her six weeks to make a complaint to police after lengthy discussions with fellow members of her community.

Judge Jeremy Donne QC ordered the jury to return a not guilty verdict at the conclusion of the prosecution case, announcing: "It is all wrapped up in the individual's view of strict Islamic observance.

"I have had concerns about this case from a very early stage. This entire case takes place in the context of a defendant and complainant who are strict adherents to the Islamic religion."

Two fellow students also gave evidence against Almaged and the judge questioned their motivation.

"Much of the disapprobation towards this defendant that the witnesses have is the fact he was alone with this young woman and his admitted touching is simply viewed critically as trespassing Islamic borders."

Almaged told police he did hold the victim, but only because she was ill and tired and asking for help.

"Every time she asked for help I held her by the hand. If I had bad intentions I would have touched her in other places.

"I am really astonished by the entire story," he told officers.

Judge Donne added: "It is clear the complainant was in a confused and disorientated state on this day as illustrated by her repeated faintings.

"This is a case where it is not clear the touching can be viewed as sexual and it is my duty to remove this case from the jury. If I allow it to go to the jury there could be a miscarriage of justice."

Transexual's Home-Made Bomb Threat

A killer transexual - rejected by the Army as a bomb disposal expert years ago - was caught by police with home-made explosives after threatening to shoot herself.

Former prostitute Angie Dews, 43, - born Mark Camm - stabbed a client, who became her boyfriend, to death fifteen years ago and a murder charge was dropped on the grounds of diminished responsibility.

She pleaded guilty to three counts of making explosives at Southleigh Community Hospital, Brighton Road, Purley on or before January 18 and today received a two-year supervision order with a mental health treatment requirement.

The hospital had to be evacuated when police found the bombs and specialist officers confirmed they were viable explosive devises.

"It is apparent to me you were not thinking very clearly when you made these improvised devices at your home," Croydon Crown Court Judge Jeremy Gold QC told Dews. "

"Bearing in mind the sensitivity surrounding explosive devises it is not surprising your case has been treated as seriously as it has."

Dews, who received a hospital order without limit of time, at the Old Bailey in 1998 for the manslaughter of her partner has been in custody since her arrest.

"Despite that conviction, which is all in the past, it doesn't seem to me, providing you are subjected to a proper regime of treatment, that you are a risk to the community at large.

"You must not do this again, however desperate you are in your personal life," added Judge Gold.

Prosecutor Miss Shekinah Anson told the court: "The defendant telephoned her step-mother, saying she had made a gun, and was going to kill herself if she was not told she was loved by her step-mother.

"Her step-mother phoned the police and when officers went to the hospital on a welfare check they found the improvised explosive devices on a table in the defendant's room."

Dews had been under the supervision of Springfield Hospital's mental health team and a social worker since her release from a secure hospital on November 30, 2010.

She told police she built the IED's in response to her rejection from the armed forces in the 1990's, which destroyed her dream of becoming a bomb disposal expert.

Dews claimed she failed the exam by two questions and the Army interviewer told her she would never make it as a bomb specialist.

The construction of the bombs was an attempt to prove she was up the role.

Spit-Row Knifeman's Murder Bid

A car passenger, who plunged a knife into another man's heart over a remark made about spitting out of the vehicle's window, will be sentenced for attempted murder next month.

Joseph Dolan, 21, (pic.bottom) of Summerwood Road, Isleworth stabbed Lee Collins, 23, (pic.top) after the roadside incident in West London.

He was convicted at Isleworth Crown Court of attempting to murder Mr. Collins in Elmwood Avenue, Feltham on March 2.

During the trial the jury heard that at around 4.50pm Mr. Collins was standing with a group of friends next to his new car in a service road off Elmwood Avenue, when another car drove past.

Dolan, who was the front seat passenger, spat on the ground as he passed the victim's group and Mr. Collins made a comment towards Dolan.

Dolan's car stopped a short distance away and he got out and confronted Mr. Collins.

Standing face to face with the victim, Dolan asked “What did you say?” and without warning removed his right hand from his jacket and stabbed Mr. Collins in the left side of his chest, penetrating his heart.

He then turned and walked back to his car which drove off.

Mr. Collins was taken to St. Mary's Hospital where he underwent extensive treatment to the heart and brain.

He remained in a critical condition and was released from hospital on March 27, however he will have ongoing left sided body weakness for life and is highly likely to require further surgery.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Manning said: : “Lee Collins' life was saved thanks only to the expert medical care provided by the emergency services.

“He received life changing injuries which will affect him for the remainder of his life.



“Dolan carried out a vicious and callous attack on Lee and his violent action has resulted in a lifetime of suffering for both Lee and his family.

“This conviction sends out a strong message to those who act in this mindless fashion, that the MPS will pursue you and put you before the courts, where justice will be served.” 

Thugs Jailed For Gun And Knife Robbery Of Young Mum

Two home invaders, who subjected a young mum and her toddler to a terrifying gun and knifepoint ordeal, have each been jailed for eight years.

They are: Olumide Buraimoh, 20, (pic.top) of Sceux Gardens, Camberwell and Sanchez Adams, 19, (pic.bottom) of nearby 
Knatchbull Road.

They had targetted a drug dealer, who shared the Herne Hill address with the 24 year-old woman and her 3 year-old daughter.

They were sentenced at Woolwich Crown Court for robbery and possession of a firearm, with intent to endanger life, at the property on September 24, last year.

Buraimoh and Adams arrived at the flat at around 2.00pm on the pretext of buying drugs from the dealer who also lived there.

Once inside, Adams pulled a gun and threatened to kill the woman and her child.

He struck the woman on the neck, while Buraimoh picked up the girl and took her to another part of the flat.

He then returned to the mother and held her down on the floor with a knife to her neck, whilst Adams ripped her watch from her wrist.

During the ordeal the woman heard shots being fired inside her flat and police later found evidence of gunfire, including a .32 inch calibre bullet which had been lodged in the front door.

Detective Inspector Raymond Keating, of the Trident South Shootings Team, said:

”It is due to the courage of this young woman giving evidence in court that these dangerous men have been convicted and sentenced.

“Everyone who worked on this case was struck not only by the unnecessary violence of this attack, but by the determination of the victim to see justice for herself and her three-year-old daughter.


“Trident officers have extensive experience of helping and protecting victims and witnesses who feel vulnerable, and this case illustrates how, with the help of the public, those who cause harm and misery in the community can be convicted and imprisoned.”

Cannabis Worth £47K In Family Hols Suitcases

An Edmonton mother-of-two, who smuggled £47,000 worth of cannabis through Gatwick Airport after a Caribbean holiday, has been told she will be going to prison.

Judian Lindsay-Smith, 34, of St. Joseph's Road posed as an innocent tourist returning from Jamaica with her children, aged 14 and 8, but was carrying 34lbs of the drug.

She denied, but was convicted at Croydon Crown Court (pictured) of importing cannabis at the airport on February 20 and will be sentenced on October 19.

“I want you to be in no doubt whatsoever that the sentence will be one of imprisonment,” Judge Shani Barnes told Lindsay-Smith today, bailing her for a pre-sentence report.

The court heard UK Border Agency staff were monitoring baggage as it was unloaded from the kingston flight.

A black suitcase bearing the defendant's address was checked and contained 17lbs of herbal cannabis wrapped in foil.

A brown suitcase, which also had the same address, was searched and another 17lbs of the drug was inside.

Officers observed as Lindsay-Smith's teenage son collected the suitcases and the family tried to depart via the 'nothing to declare' channel.

They were stopped and the defendant claimed she had only visited Jamaica to see her elderly grandmother, who had suffered a stroke eighteen months earlier.

She had spent eight days abroad and denied knowing there was cannabis in both her suitcases, later denying they were her suitcases at all.

The jury were also told each bag weighed 17lbs less on departure than when Lindsay-Smith returned.

Priest Wanted By Police For Sex Crimes

A priest is on the run from police after he was arrested for old sexual abuse allegations made by an ex-pupil at a West london school.

Laurence Soper, 68, (pictured) is believed to have fled to the continent – probably Italy - and is also known by his birth name, Andrew Charles Kingston Soper.

He was originally arrested in October, 2010 after a man in his forties – who attended St. Benedict's School, Ealing as a child – made a statement to police four months earlier.

Officers from the Met's Child Abuse Investigation Team bailed Father Soper to return to a West london police station in March, 2011, but he failed to appear.

Officers have made extensive enquiries to trace him without success and a European Arrest Warrant for his arrest has been obtained.

Police
are appealing for anyone who may know of his whereabouts to make contact on 020 8246 1901.

If you wish to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. 



Star Banned For Riding Moped Uninsured

Comedian and Hollywood actor Omid Djalili was fined £2,900 and hit with a six-month driving ban today for riding his three-wheel moped uninsured and with an expired licence.

The face of Moneysupermarket.com has now clocked up a whopping thirty-six penalty points for driving offences and owes approximately another £3,000 in fines and court costs he claims to know nothing about.

Gladiator and Pirates of the Caribbean star Djalili, 46, (pictured outside court) of Sheen Lane, East Sheen  argued he needed to keep his licence to avoid fanatics, who have issued death threats, and abusive passengers on public transport.

The father-of-three denied, but was convicted at City of London Magistrates' Court of riding his Piaggio MP3 without insurance and not in accordance with a licence in Grosvenor Road, Pimlico on May 4.

He was fined £2,000 and given six penalty points for driving without insurance and fined £700 for the licence offence and ordered to pay £600 costs and a £15 victim surcharge.

Djalili admitted illegally riding his moped in a cycle-only superhighway lane while travelling to the Vaudeville Theatre, where he was starring in Joe Orton's 'What The Butler Saw' and was fined an additional £200.

Police Sergeant Simon Rhodes told the court: "I was drawn to the speed, which I deemed to be over thirty miles per hour. The vehicle then pulled into the cycle lane and undertook six vehicles."

The officer impounded the scooter because Djalili's licence had passed the twelve penalty point threshold, rendering his insurance invalid, and it took the entertainer two weeks to get it back.

"I had absolutely no idea I had these points on my licence, I never received anything," Djalili told the court. Maybe I was on tour at the time doing stand-up comedy. I have never received anything about these court cases."

Djalili has five previous offences of failing to inform who was in charge of his Lexus car and Piaggio moped when caught on London traffic cameras either speeding, jumping red lights or breaching other road laws.

"These points will be contested and I am in the process of appealing," said Djalili, who has instructed celebrity law firm Freeman and Co.

Claiming any disqualification would cause him 'exceptional hardship' he told the court: "I have found myself being harassed and recognised on public transport.

"If I don't stop and take a picture with someone it can get abusive, which is distressing.

"I also suffer terrible nausea on tour buses and let my crew go ahead and I follow in my car and my wife has a nervous disorder, which prevents her driving."

Chelsea-born Djalili, whose parents are Iranian, added: "There is also a security issue. Coming from the Middle East and not being a muslim I've had death threats and have always felt more secure when I am driving."

Bookie Bandit: Do You Know Him?

Police are hunting this wannabe armed robber, who threatened to shoot the cashier of a West London bookies.

The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad have released this CCTV still in the hope the suspect will be identified and brought to justice.

He walked into William Hill Bookmakers, Golborne Road, North Kensington at 7.20pm on Saturday August 4.

The suspect threatened to shoot the cashier, intimating he was in possession of a gun. 

When the cashier refused to hand over money, the suspect made off empty handed. 

He is described as between 55 and 65 and around six feet tall. 

He was wearing a light brown or beige zip up fleece/cardigan jacket.

Anyone with information that may assist police should call 020 8247 7948. 

To remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.