The City of London Police and the National Crime Agency (NCA) are calling on the public’s help to catch ten wanted fraudsters who are linked to over £20 million in fraud losses in the UK and abroad.

The ten have been identified through the work of the Joint Fraud Taskforce, an initiative launched by then-Home Secretary, Theresa May in February this year that brings together law enforcement agencies, the financial sector and Government to fight criminals who prey on the public, UK businesses and our economy, and to protect the public from fraud.

The taskforce has been charged with creating a new era of collaboration, resulting in greater shared intelligence, a unified response to, and greater awareness of, the risk of fraud in the UK.

The wanted fraudsters have been identified through the Collective Response area of the Taskforce’s work. This work is jointly led by the City of London Police, in its role as lead force for fraud, and the National Crime Agency.

The ten are being investigated by police forces and Government departments across all areas of the UK and show the scale and breadth of the fight against fraud including how criminals use the internet and global financial systems to commit their crimes and then launder the criminal proceeds.

Law enforcement is working with the banking sector not only to initially freeze then seize their assets but also help investigators trace them. This close partnership between law enforcement and banking ensures criminals are brought to justice and helps to maintain the integrity of our financial system.

The internet has allowed criminals to target people in the UK from anywhere in the world while also enabling them to mask or hide their identity.

The ten are being released ahead of the publication of the Crime Survey of England and Wales on Thursday (21 July) which is expected to show that fraud is the most prevalent crime in the UK. These will be the first full year results that contain questions on fraud and cyber crime. The interim results published in October 2015 indicated that there were 5.2 million frauds and 2.5 million cyber crimes.

Commissioner of the City of London Police Ian Dyson, said “The City of London Police has learnt that the key to combating fraud is Government, law enforcement and business working together to bring criminals to justice and also design out the opportunities for them to commit crime in the first place.

“The Joint Fraud Taskforce is key to this and brings a new impetus to the UK’s response to fraud.

“I would urge anyone who has information on the ten wanted fraudsters to call officers as these people will continue to commit fraud across the globe that cause misery to so many worldwide.

Donald Toon, Director of the NCA’s Economic Crime Command, said: “The annual losses to the UK from fraud are estimated to be more than £190bn. Behind this headline figure lie the actions of criminals like the wanted fraudsters highlighted in this appeal, who have caused distress and loss to people and businesses up and down the country.

“Law enforcement cannot tackle this problem alone. It is only by working together, individuals, law enforcement, Government and the private sector – using structures like the Joint Fraud Task Force – that we can protect the UK against fraud.

“It is important that anyone able to provide information on the ten fraudsters we are highlighting today takes the opportunity to pass that information to law enforcement to help bring them to justice.”

The Joint Fraud Taskforce is:

• Building a collective understanding of the threat from fraud, including how fraud is enabled.
• Developing new ways to more effectively identify disrupt and catch fraudsters.
• Empowering people to protect themselves from fraud through innovative and targeted campaigns.
• Helping to support those who have already been targeted by fraudsters or those who could be at risk in future.
• Closing down loopholes and vulnerabilities that allow fraudsters to operate.

Former in February 2016 the Taskforce brings together law enforcement including City of London Police, National Crime Agency, Metropolitan Police Service, and Dedicated Card and Plastic Crime Unit; The Financial Industry including Financial Fraud Action UK, British Bankers Association, Cifas and the UK’s banks, card companies and wider financial institutions who are contributing both through their Trade Associations and as individual companies; and the Home Office for the Government.

Ten Wanted Fraudsters

Serial fraudster wanted for defrauding the elderly, former partners, and a number of banks

Alex Mckenzie, 33 of addresses across East and West London is wanted by the Metropolitan Police for being a prolific fraudster and is known to use the aliases of Jaswant Singh and James McKenzie.

Mckenzie is wanted for a range of fraud offences. These include obtaining credit cards, bank accounts, and loans in his partner’s parent’s names, and two former partner’s names with losses totalling over £300k.

McKenzie met his partners on the gay social networking app “Scruff” and officers believe McKenzie poses a danger to the gay community.

In order to perpetuate his frauds, and deceive former partners, McKenzie claimed to work for MI6 and even provided forged documents, uniform, and identification of his various pseudonyms.

Mckenzie is also wanted for diverting approximately £30k into his own bank account whilst working for the accounts department for a large multinational company.

These offences were committed between November 2014 and October 2015 when he lived at various addresses across West, East and South East London.

Detectives believe he is in the US as an overstayer and enquiries have been made to trace him both in the UK and US.

Detective Constable Suzanne Raftery said “It is clear that McKenzie has very little conscience and he has left his victims both emotionally and financially devastated.

“The fact he had the audacity to defraud his two partners who believed they were in a loving relationship with him, illustrates the distain that he has for his victims and their feelings.

“People in the UK may have information on McKenzie’s whereabouts and I would urge those people to come forward so that more lives aren’t destroyed.

“McKenzie has met both of his partners on gay dating apps and it is feared that he may target further victims in this way.”

Anyone with information on his whereabouts is urged to call the Metropolitan Police’s Falcon team on 0207 161 8321.

Alternatively, to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs appeal for wanted Bollywood movie maker

Detectives are appealing to trace Sandeep Arora, 42, who is wanted in connection with the evasion of over £4.5 million VAT and Film Tax from HMRC.

Between 2007 and 2011, Arora setup a production company with offices in central London while he lived in Beckton.

He made the VAT and Film Tax claims for films entitled Billy the Beagle, London Dreams, Kuan Bola, Aagosh, Trapped and Kia the Dream Girl, but they either didn’t exist at all or he had no involvement with them.

He is known in the Bollywood Film Industry as Karan Arora and purports to be a Film Producer who makes films in India and Fiji.

Arora is currently believed to be in India, and it is highly likely that he will continue to commit further offences until he is caught.

If you have any information relating to the whereabouts of Arora then please contact the Customs Confidential Hotline on 0800 595 0000.

Alternatively to remain anonymous call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

A criminal convicted whilst on the run is wanted for a 700k boiler room scam

Levi John Coyle, 36, of Colchester, is wanted by the City of London Police for orchestrating a boiler room fraud for which he was found guilty of despite failing to appear at court.

Coyle failed to stand trial at the Old Bailey in September 2013 for selling fake shares and defrauding investors out of £700,000 between 2009 and 2010 whilst he claimed to be a broker.

During this time he cold-called victims to offer stock market shares at discounted prices or for sought after shares that were not at the time available to the general public to buy. However, after paying money, victims never received any share certificates, with the proceeds then being laundered by Coyle.

Coyle was sentenced in his absence to six years imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud, fraud by false representation and money laundering.

Coyle is subject of a bench warrant for his arrest and his image has been circulated to UK enforcement agencies in a bid to trace his whereabouts.

Joseph Ford, of the City of London Police Fraud Investigation Team, said “We are calling upon the public for their assistance in locating Coyle. Coyle must accept the consequences of his crimes, face the courts and begin his jail term handed to him in his absence.”

Anyone with information regarding Coyle’s whereabouts is urged to call the City of London Police on 0207 601 2222. Alternatively, to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Serial ATM machine fraudster wanted for committing offences across the UK

Marius Lucian Anton, 31, a Romanian national with links to the Midlands, is wanted by Cheshire Constabulary for committing multiple automated teller machine (ATM) fraud offences across the country since 2012.

Anton has used card skimming devices which he has attached to supermarket ATMs to extract and clone credit cards.

Anton has links with the areas Northamptonshire and Corby, where his last known address was.

Despite the nationwide circulation of Anton’s image to all police forces, he has not been traced and it is believed that he will continue to commit further offences until he is found.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call Cheshire Police on 01244 350 000. Alternatively, to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Fraudster that targets the elderly wanted by Greater Manchester Police

Detectives in Greater Manchester want to question Felix Rooney, who also goes by other names including Michael Hannon and Martin Connors, after a 72-year-old man paid tens of thousands of pounds for building work on his home.

Rooney is 35 and has an Irish accent and scars on his face. He travels extensively but has links to the West Midlands, Worcester and London areas.

He is known to have defrauded the 72 year old man of close to £100,000 by claiming that he needed work doing to his roof.

He told the victim his roof required urgent repairs and they entered into an agreement for these to be carried out.

However once work was underway, the builder repeatedly told the victim that extra work was required and the total bill rose to nearly £100,000, which was paid by the victim in instalments.

Trading Standards have since surveyed the address and estimated the true value of the work to be less than £1,000.

Rooney has a history of preying on the elderly and vulnerable, and he may have shaved his head and already be reoffending.

He was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in March 2011 after stealing money from elderly victims by getting into their homes by claiming he was from the Water Board.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives from Greater Manchester Police on 0161 856 6860. Detectives also advise members of the public who see him not to approach him but call police immediately.

Online watch seller wanted

A British man who is believed to be living in the Philippines is wanted by police in connection with a £20,000 fraud where victims have been duped into paying hundreds of pounds for designer and luxury watches they never received.

Detectives from Avon and Somerset police are appealing for information to trace Adam James Stagg, 29, who is thought to be living in Manila.

Stagg is wanted for fraud offences linked to the online sale of watches between October 2013 and June 2014. Detectives believe Stagg was involved in setting up a number of companies trading from the Philippines offering customers in the UK deals on watches costing upwards of £100.

Victims paid money into various bank accounts belonging to associates of Stagg, who then sent the money on to Stagg in the Philippines. However, none of his victims ever received a watch and some even reported to police that they were threatened when they tried to find out why they hadn’t received their goods.

In total, officers believe there have been approximately 140 victims and Stagg is thought to have profited to the tune of £20,000 from the fraud.

Through their enquiries, detectives believe that Stagg is leading a ‘luxury lifestyle’ in the Manila area of the Philippines and is fully aware that he is wanted by Avon and Somerset Police.

Anyone with information about Stagg’s whereabouts should call Avon and Somerset Police on 01275 814 541 or alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Woman wanted for supplying fraudulent immigration documents

A 43-year-old woman who is believed to have been involved in the fraudulent supply of immigration documents is wanted by UK authorities.

Investigators believe Alexia Thomas, from Nigeria, is involved in the supply of false immigration documents to individuals looking to gain British Citizenship. Her services were advertised online and asked for correspondence to be sent to PO Box address.

The documents, which were sold for around £300 each, were supposedly provided by major political organisations such as ‘The Independent Diplomatic Commission’ or ‘Commonwealth Liberation Party’ with some even claiming to have paramilitary wings. These documents were then presented at courts across the UK by individuals looking to be granted British Citizenship.

However, when further checks were made it was clear that none of the organisations existed and the documents were fakes.

Thomas is believed to have been involved in the founding of the companies that were set up to provide these documents to buyers, claiming to be a Professor on company documentation and using the moniker ‘Her Knowledgable’ on company literature.

Thomas is known to have used a number of different aliases including:

Elizabeth or Lizzy with the surnames Henz; Ikuwe-Henz; Iheyen; Ikue-Henz; Ihenyue; Ikwue; Herz and Ihenyen.

Other aliases include Professor Thomas, Professor Summers, Martha Peterson and Alexia Bridget.

Thomas’s last known address was in Robert Street, in Camden, central London. She has also been known to live in various addresses across London including Catford, Bellingham, Homerton, Thamesmead, Dagenham, Walthamstow and Harrow.

Anyone with information on Thomas’s current whereabouts should call the Police on 101 or by contacting Crimestoppers, which is completely anonymous, on 0800 555 111.

Man wanted for defrauding over one hundred bank accounts

Faisal Butt, 39, of Lahore, Pakistan is wanted by The Dedicated Card and Payment Crime Unit (DCPCU) for conspiracy to defraud after compromising over one hundred customer bank accounts, which resulted in the customers having hundreds of thousands of pounds being taken from their bank accounts. Multiple banks were targeted by Butt and his criminal colleagues.

Butt, along with a ‘bank insider’ and a number of others in his criminal gang, were able to pass themselves off as genuine account holders and open joint bank accounts linked to existing customer’s main accounts.

By opening these accounts they were able to obtain credit and debit cards and transfer the customer’s funds into their own accounts or reset the customer’s security details. An ongoing financial investigation is taking place to try and find where the money has been sent to.

Butt was charged with conspiracy to defraud on 31 March 2015 and appeared at the Old Bailey on 19 October 2015. However, he failed to return to court on 29 April of this year and was sentenced in his absence.

Butt is thought to have gone back to Pakistan but subsequently left the country and his whereabouts are now unknown. UK Border Agency checks have been carried out to try and trace him.

If you have information relating to the whereabouts of Butt please contact the DCPCU on 0207 709 6600.

If you do not want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

The ​Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit (DCPCU) is a special police unit comprising police officers drawn from the City of London and Metropolitan Police forces. The unit is fully sponsored by the banking industry, and supported by bank investigators and case support staff who have an ongoing brief to help stamp out organised card and cheque fraud across the UK.

Man wanted for defrauding the NHS and Guernsey of over £12 million

Bayo Lawrence Anoworin, 41, from Lagos, Nigeria, is wanted by Lincolnshire Police in connection with fraud offences and money laundering.

Anoworin, who also goes by several other names (John Bay, Roland Martins, Wemio Adeyemi and Adeyemi Awonorin), was part of an organised crime group which defrauded a number of NHS Trusts in the UK and Guernsey, stealing a total of £12 million and laundering the money between 1 January and 2011 and 31 July 2012.

In September 2011 Lincolnshire Police started to investigate the group and 15 others were arrested. Anoworin was arrested in Abbey Wood, London, on November 2012 and released on bail; he failed to answer his bail and has been untraceable since.

Efforts have been made to find Anowrin, who has strong connections in Chatham and Thamesmead. Enquiries have been made in the area but so far nobody has come forward with information about his whereabouts.

If you have information about Anoworin please contact Lincolnshire Police on 01522 532222.

If you do not want to speak directly to the police you can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Mobile phone con man wanted

A criminal who has stolen brand new mobile handsets worth £40k by using fraudulent payment details whilst posing to be a genuine customer, is wanted by Hampshire Police.

Naeem Ahmed, aged 44, of Arden Road Smethwick was charged in connection with 21 fraud offences which he has committed at mobile phone shops between the 14 June 2014 and the 7 October 2014.

He was arrested in October 2014 after mobile phone staff who were serving Ahmad, suspected that he had committed fraudulent activity at store in Portsmouth.

Specifically the offences have been committed in: Portsmouth, Salisbury, Eastleigh, Andover, Bridgewater, Weston Super Mare, Taunton, Leeds, Dewsbury, Wakefield, Castleford, Newbury, Fareham, Southampton, Winchester, Bristol, Cardiff, Newport.

On all occasions Ahmed, who is also believed to be using a number of aliases, has obtained in-store mobile phone upgrades and been handed brand new handsets by using stolen customer details.

Ahmed is believed to be in Birmingham or other areas in the west Midlands.

Despite extensive enquiries into locating his whereabouts, along with the UK wide circulation of Ahmed’s image to all police forces, his is still at large.

Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call Hampshire Police on 101 quoting ref 44160261412. Alternatively, to remain anonymous please call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.