Oko
Ugwa
Emu
Nusi
Four jailed for Match.com dating scam Four men from Hampshire and Berkshire have been jailed for conning 14 women out of nearly £250,000 as part of an “elaborate” dating website scam. Following a three-week trial at Winchester Crown Court, Monty Emu, 28, of Southsea, and Adewunmi Nusi, 37, from Berkshire, were convicted of money laundering. On the first day of the trial, Emmanuel Oko, 29, of Southsea, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and money laundering, while Chukwuka Ugwu, 28, of Southsea, admitted a charge of money laundering. The men were sentenced by Judge Susan Evans QC as follows: ¾¾ Oko – Eight years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to defraud and four years’ imprisonment for money laundering - to run concurrently ¾¾ Ugwu – Forty-six weeks’ imprisonment for money laundering
¾¾ Emu – Three-and-a-half years’ imprisonment for money laundering ¾¾ Nusi – Eighteen months’ imprisonment for money laundering Detective Sergeant Lee Macarthur explained: “This case centres around a web of lies constructed by these devious people who had the sole intention of exploiting emotionally vulnerable women for financial gain. “They all played their part in this deception, which left 14 women feeling used and embarrassed and has seen them lose significant amounts of money. “The women were duped into thinking that they were talking to a man who was genuinely looking for love on the dating website match.com. Unfortunately for them, they were part of an elaborate scam.
“The sentences imposed by the judge should send out a clear message to people who think they can hide behind fake profiles and carry out these scams again and again, that they will be caught and dealt with by the courts. “I would like to thank the women involved in this case for their courage in coming forward to report this and also going through the distressing experience of giving evidence about a very personal subject.” Brooke Boston, aged 29, of Chelsea Road, Southsea, was cleared of charges of conspiracy to defraud and money laundering. Eberechi Ekpo, 26, of Adair Road, Southsea, was cleared of money laundering and fraud by false representation part way through the trial.
UK festival task force receives international recognition Intelligence manager Rebecca Colvin was among a UK contingent invited to The Hague to give a presentation about a project to reduce crime and disorder at UK festivals and events by improving information and intelligence sharing. The event, at Europol’s headquarters in the Netherlands, was attended by 92 delegates from 16 member states. Rebecca has been working on the project with Sergeant Jill McCracken (College of Policing) and Detective Constable Kevin Walker (Leicestershire Police). Taking to the stage, Rebecca presented a project overview, with a focus on current crime trends and intelligence gaps around national and international Mobile Organised Crime Groups (MOCGs)
Detective Constable Kevin Walker, Rebecca Colvin and Sergeant Jill McCracken
that target festivals and other large-scale events. Owing to the continuing work of the project and national network of intelligence leads and event planners, this year has seen a significant decrease in crime at festivals and events. Rebecca said: “Speaking at the event was a proud moment in my career. It was interesting to meet with other European police officers who also have major music festivals and share our experiences. The
MOCG issue affects all of these nations – we are now working together to develop intelligence in order to combat this type of criminality.” This month the UK Festival and Events Task Force launched the project to all UK forces. It aims to provide intelligence products that will assist the police and event organisers with their decision making around threat and risk, national consistency around effective resourcing, and improved partnership working. 15