0:00:02 > 0:00:06Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Police! Police officer, stand where you are!
0:00:22 > 0:00:23You're under arrest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:28In this series, I'm going to be investigating
0:00:28 > 0:00:31the world of the criminals who make their money at your expense,
0:00:31 > 0:00:34and I'm going to show you how not to get ripped off.
0:00:34 > 0:00:37Coming up...
0:00:37 > 0:00:39- Who's in charge? - Put your knives down.
0:00:39 > 0:00:42We follow the UK Border Agency as they track down the fakers
0:00:42 > 0:00:44hidden in Britain's workforce.
0:00:44 > 0:00:48He's told me he entered the United Kingdom by lorry.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51The bottle of wine that left a nasty taste in the mouth.
0:00:51 > 0:00:53It was bought in Tesco... and it's a fake.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56Heartbreak for young ballet dancers -
0:00:56 > 0:00:59how a fraudster left their dreams in tatters.
0:00:59 > 0:01:02There were children as young as three years old involved in this.
0:01:07 > 0:01:11This man is a target for the police, the Border Agency
0:01:11 > 0:01:15and counter fraud squad from the local authority.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19He's a suspected fraudster, who they believe has used fake ID
0:01:19 > 0:01:23to claim tens of thousands in benefits he's not entitled to.
0:01:23 > 0:01:29We are looking at closer to £50,000 of housing, council tax
0:01:29 > 0:01:33and benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37The man's ID says his name is Mehdi Zerga,
0:01:37 > 0:01:40but the council's fraud team think that's a fake French identity
0:01:40 > 0:01:43he's using so he can claim benefits.
0:01:43 > 0:01:45The team know where he lives,
0:01:45 > 0:01:50and early in the morning they are on their way to arrest him for fraud.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53Can you open the door, please?
0:01:53 > 0:01:57The police are in, but there's a whole family inside.
0:01:57 > 0:01:59The suspect has been handcuffed.
0:01:59 > 0:02:04Police and the council team are confident this is the man in the ID.
0:02:04 > 0:02:09What they need to find now are any identity documents linking him
0:02:09 > 0:02:11to the name on the fake claims - Mehdi Zerga.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12Two for the children.
0:02:12 > 0:02:16So far, all they can find are what seem to be genuine documents
0:02:16 > 0:02:18for him, his wife and their children.
0:02:18 > 0:02:19I'm a British citizen.
0:02:19 > 0:02:23- You've got a British passport, or a travel document? - No, I've got a British passport.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27But finally, they've found suspect bank documents in the name
0:02:27 > 0:02:29they've been looking for.
0:02:29 > 0:02:31Mr Mehdi Zerga... do you know who he is?
0:02:31 > 0:02:34Basically, that man is not here at the moment.
0:02:34 > 0:02:37He lives in France. He used to live here for ages, and he went.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40All right. Do you open his mail for him?
0:02:40 > 0:02:42Yeah, because sometimes he said to me,
0:02:42 > 0:02:44"If there is any letter, pay it for me."
0:02:44 > 0:02:46Because I'm paying his rent.
0:02:46 > 0:02:50He comes maybe once a month or two months to take his rent.
0:02:50 > 0:02:52I've got a letter from the Halifax.
0:02:52 > 0:02:54That's his credit card.
0:02:54 > 0:02:56I used to do like a payment for him.
0:02:56 > 0:02:58That's his credit card?
0:02:58 > 0:02:59They don't believe him.
0:02:59 > 0:03:02They think he opened the letter because it was addressed
0:03:02 > 0:03:06to the fake name he's been using to claim £50,000 in benefits.
0:03:06 > 0:03:08We're going to seize these documents.
0:03:08 > 0:03:10The team believe they have got the fraudster.
0:03:10 > 0:03:15They've found the suspect at the address the benefits were claimed from,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18and found bank documents in the name of the fake claimant.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20And they were right.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23The man later admitted setting up a fake identity in the name
0:03:23 > 0:03:27Mehdi Zerga and conning £50,000.
0:03:27 > 0:03:29He was sentenced to a year's jail
0:03:29 > 0:03:34and all payments to him were stopped, saving thousands of pounds.
0:03:34 > 0:03:36We're very happy with the results.
0:03:36 > 0:03:39Every case we prosecute, we are saving a lot of money.
0:03:39 > 0:03:42And what you've got to appreciate, we're stopping the benefit,
0:03:42 > 0:03:44so we're stopping that fraud increasing.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54Clacton-on-Sea, on the windy coast of Essex.
0:03:54 > 0:03:55With its pier and beach,
0:03:55 > 0:04:00it was once a top holiday destination for tens of thousands.
0:04:00 > 0:04:03It's perhaps the last place you'd think of for fake wine.
0:04:09 > 0:04:13Daniel McGowan likes his wine and knows a bit about it.
0:04:13 > 0:04:16He went into his local Tesco in Clacton
0:04:16 > 0:04:20and bought a couple of bottles of the classy French wine Pouilly-Fuisse.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24But when he got it home and drank it, he was in for a surprise.
0:04:24 > 0:04:27I opened it up expecting it to be a dry French wine.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30I'm no expert,
0:04:30 > 0:04:35but I can tell a decent French dry wine to a cheap and sweet wine.
0:04:35 > 0:04:38Daniel was convinced that what was on the label was not the wine
0:04:38 > 0:04:39in the bottle.
0:04:39 > 0:04:41Purchasing it from Tesco,
0:04:41 > 0:04:45couldn't have thought that a counterfeit wine could have been sold.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Next day he took the bottle back to the supermarket to complain...
0:04:49 > 0:04:52he was offered a refund.
0:04:52 > 0:04:53I declined,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56and I just really asked for someone from Tesco to speak to me,
0:04:56 > 0:04:59because I felt that, obviously, that wasn't right,
0:04:59 > 0:05:01Tesco really shouldn't be...
0:05:01 > 0:05:05Someone needed to explain the reasons why what was in the bottle
0:05:05 > 0:05:08wasn't what it was actually supposed to be.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12I received a letter from Tesco saying that it was nothing to do with them,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and it was in the hands of their wine distribution company.
0:05:16 > 0:05:20I've had a conversation with the wine distribution company,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24who reimbursed me with two bottles of the actual wine
0:05:24 > 0:05:28that it should have been and a bottle of champagne.
0:05:28 > 0:05:32But apart from that, there has been nothing more from Tesco
0:05:32 > 0:05:34on this matter or anything else.
0:05:34 > 0:05:38Tesco point out that this is the only time this has ever happened
0:05:38 > 0:05:39in one of their stores.
0:05:39 > 0:05:41But two questions remain...
0:05:41 > 0:05:45just what was in the bottle, and how did it get there?
0:05:45 > 0:05:49Daniel's brought it along to a top wine expert in London
0:05:49 > 0:05:50for some answers.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53I thought we'd start off by tasting something I know to be real
0:05:53 > 0:05:55Pouilly-Fuisse.
0:05:55 > 0:05:56And we'll see what it's like.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59This is classic southern Burgundian wine.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03It's a chardonnay, it's 100%, so we should be getting some really
0:06:03 > 0:06:07nice aromas of things like minerals from the soil.
0:06:07 > 0:06:08Let's have a taste.
0:06:16 > 0:06:17Mmm.
0:06:17 > 0:06:20Can you feel that creaminess coming from the oak contact?
0:06:20 > 0:06:23- Yes.- But there's that lovely sort of fresh, mineral note.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25That's what Pouilly-Fuisse is all about.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27Let's have a look at your bottle now.
0:06:27 > 0:06:31I can tell straight away that this is a wrong 'un.
0:06:31 > 0:06:34That's the only way to describe it. Look at the shape of the bottle.
0:06:34 > 0:06:36Completely different shape.
0:06:36 > 0:06:40And when you're in the know, Burgundy comes in that shape bottle,
0:06:40 > 0:06:42other wines come in this shaped bottle.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45Louis Jadot I know never use screw caps.
0:06:45 > 0:06:48And this label, it's the wrong texture,
0:06:48 > 0:06:50the label is just cheap and nasty.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52It should be a lot better than that.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56And, well, it looks pure filth...
0:06:56 > 0:06:59let's see what it tastes like! Have a try.
0:07:00 > 0:07:02You can see, it smells completely different.
0:07:02 > 0:07:05A, there's hardly any nose on that...
0:07:09 > 0:07:11Mmm. Mmm! Mmm! And it's sweet.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14It's probably German, and it's probably not very good German.
0:07:14 > 0:07:18So it's German, cheap and definitely not Pouilly-Fuisse.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21But how did it get on Tesco's shelves?
0:07:21 > 0:07:24Tom thinks the distributors were conned by the fakers.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27It's the most common fraud around at the moment -
0:07:27 > 0:07:29people buy a batch of really cheap wine,
0:07:29 > 0:07:33get some labels printed off, stick it on, and then just try and sneak
0:07:33 > 0:07:38it into the supply chain of a big company, like they've tried here.
0:07:38 > 0:07:40Having said that, again,
0:07:40 > 0:07:43the people who've bought it probably didn't taste this wine.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46The way it normally works, from what I can work out, is that
0:07:46 > 0:07:51if you ask for samples of wine, you get the genuine article,
0:07:51 > 0:07:55but the fake stuff then gets slipped into the supply chain,
0:07:55 > 0:07:56and hopefully gets lost in there.
0:07:56 > 0:07:58So it's really hard to trace it back.
0:07:58 > 0:08:01For Daniel, it's a relief to have the experts agree
0:08:01 > 0:08:04that his suspicions were correct.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07It's the reason why I wrote in and went to see Tesco.
0:08:07 > 0:08:09It's proved it's true.
0:08:09 > 0:08:14Tesco believe that only nine bottles of the fake wine were ever in their stores,
0:08:14 > 0:08:17but Tom thinks there's a reason why we don't hear more about wine frauds.
0:08:17 > 0:08:21An awful lot of times I think people just taste it and they go,
0:08:21 > 0:08:23"Well, I don't like that wine, throw it away."
0:08:23 > 0:08:24Even if it's at the top end,
0:08:24 > 0:08:29they very rarely think they've been defrauded, they just think they don't like the wine.
0:08:34 > 0:08:37Information has been received that there are immigration
0:08:37 > 0:08:40offenders working illegally at the premises.
0:08:40 > 0:08:44In Hampshire, an enforcement team from the UK Border Agency
0:08:44 > 0:08:46are preparing for an operation.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51They suspect that a restaurant on their patch is employing
0:08:51 > 0:08:54fake workers who have no right to take up jobs here.
0:08:54 > 0:08:58All put down what you're doing, put any knives down.
0:08:58 > 0:09:03Some estimates say that almost a million people are in this country illegally,
0:09:03 > 0:09:05and many of them are working.
0:09:05 > 0:09:08That's why the UK Border Agency carry out thousands of operations
0:09:08 > 0:09:10like this in a year,
0:09:10 > 0:09:13looking for people who falsely claim to have the right to work here.
0:09:13 > 0:09:16How many of these people live upstairs?
0:09:16 > 0:09:18No-one inside is a UK national,
0:09:18 > 0:09:22but many could have leave to remain, working visas or be students.
0:09:22 > 0:09:27And one man has provided a straightforward answer on how he came to be here.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30He's told me he entered the United Kingdom by lorry.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Can you ask him when he entered by lorry,
0:09:32 > 0:09:36and is he in contact with the Home Office?
0:09:38 > 0:09:40HE SPEAKS FOREIGN LANGUAGE
0:09:40 > 0:09:42Entered by lorry in 1998.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46He then made an application under the Human Rights Act in 2006,
0:09:46 > 0:09:48but he says he hasn't heard anything else.
0:09:48 > 0:09:51He says he hasn't been given any reporting restrictions,
0:09:51 > 0:09:53but I take it he's probably absconded.
0:09:53 > 0:09:57Staff will investigate his claim that he made a human rights application,
0:09:57 > 0:09:59but he's been here for 12 years.
0:09:59 > 0:10:03You've been here since 1998, and you don't speak any English?
0:10:03 > 0:10:05He came here first of all on holiday.
0:10:05 > 0:10:07I think you understand what I'm saying a little bit better
0:10:07 > 0:10:09than you're letting on.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14A check on his records revealed he had no right to live or work here, and he's been arrested.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18What's his present status in the UK? That's what I'm trying to establish.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Language barriers often exist on operations like this,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24but the team have got interpreters on the end of a phone line.
0:10:24 > 0:10:27I will get the interpreter to explain to you in a second...
0:10:27 > 0:10:30This man has told officers that he has the right to work here
0:10:30 > 0:10:34in the UK, but a check on their database is revealing a different story.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37Information I have says he's got no visa to be a domestic worker.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40Can you just check that he understands the difference
0:10:40 > 0:10:43between a working holiday maker and a domestic worker?
0:10:43 > 0:10:47His visa is very specific and doesn't allow him to work in restaurants.
0:10:51 > 0:10:55Go back to work, I'm afraid!
0:10:55 > 0:10:58And although the legitimate staff have now been allowed to start
0:10:58 > 0:11:02cooking, customers might still have a long wait for food.
0:11:02 > 0:11:06The UK Border Agency checks have also revealed that this waiter is
0:11:06 > 0:11:09an overstayer who should have left the UK some time ago.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12I'm just going to hold you quietly.
0:11:12 > 0:11:14I'll be very gentle.
0:11:14 > 0:11:16As a result of the operation,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19three workers at the restaurant are now under arrest.
0:11:22 > 0:11:23One of them's an overstayer,
0:11:23 > 0:11:26one of them's working in breach of his conditions,
0:11:26 > 0:11:28and one of them came into the country illegally.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30The middle chap is a worker in breach.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33He came into the country on a visa which meant he was working
0:11:33 > 0:11:34as a domestic worker.
0:11:34 > 0:11:36He's not allowed to work in a restaurant,
0:11:36 > 0:11:40he's only allowed to do a specific job role, and he's not doing that.
0:11:40 > 0:11:43These three were all cheating the system to work here, and many believe
0:11:43 > 0:11:47this has a detrimental effect on the rest of the working population.
0:11:47 > 0:11:51Illegals often work for less money, which drives down wages
0:11:51 > 0:11:55in the poorly paid jobs that legal immigrants often end up doing.
0:11:55 > 0:11:57And for having three fake workers,
0:11:57 > 0:12:02the restaurateur was fined a total of £15,000.
0:12:11 > 0:12:16This is Rebecca Towndrow practising some of the ballet movements
0:12:16 > 0:12:18she and her sister learned in their training
0:12:18 > 0:12:21at the Dance Lines Academy in Croydon.
0:12:21 > 0:12:24Rebecca hasn't danced in front of anybody
0:12:24 > 0:12:26since she left the dance academy.
0:12:26 > 0:12:30Something that happened there really knocked the confidence out of her.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32Rebecca and her sister Kristina
0:12:32 > 0:12:34were both learning to dance at the academy,
0:12:34 > 0:12:39run by qualified dance teacher Amanda Brugnoli-Lines.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42I enjoyed it, because you met new people,
0:12:42 > 0:12:46I learnt loads more things, and you get close to the teacher
0:12:46 > 0:12:50when you keep on going years and years and things like that.
0:12:52 > 0:12:59The girls loved going, getting dressed up, having their hair done.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01Hair ribbons...
0:13:01 > 0:13:04And it was all very, very exciting for them.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08And for Lynne's elder daughter, Kristina,
0:13:08 > 0:13:10dancing was more than just a hobby.
0:13:10 > 0:13:12It was something that I really enjoyed doing,
0:13:12 > 0:13:15and at that stage, I did want to follow on
0:13:15 > 0:13:18and go to the Brit School and actually be the prima ballerina!
0:13:18 > 0:13:23Both the girls regularly sat exams set by the Royal Academy of Dance.
0:13:23 > 0:13:25Take your places at the bar, please.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Their marks would be sent back to them via their dance tutor.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35The syllabus sets criteria which candidates have to meet,
0:13:35 > 0:13:39and obviously the requirements get progressively more difficult
0:13:39 > 0:13:41as you go up the grades.
0:13:41 > 0:13:44I wanted to get the grades, you always wanted to get that
0:13:44 > 0:13:48grade A or distinction, you didn't want to get anything less...
0:13:48 > 0:13:50just wanted to be the best.
0:13:50 > 0:13:54And the grades she was getting seemed to suggest the hard work was paying off.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56Thanks to the teaching of their instructor,
0:13:56 > 0:14:00Amanda Brugnoli-Lines, the girls were getting great grades.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04They all really wanted to do the best for themselves and for Miss Amanda.
0:14:04 > 0:14:07But something was very wrong at the academy
0:14:07 > 0:14:09where the girls had been taught.
0:14:09 > 0:14:13Rumours had begun to circulate that there was a problem with the exam certificates,
0:14:13 > 0:14:16and their tutor had been arrested.
0:14:16 > 0:14:19I just bumped into somebody in Sainsbury's, of all places,
0:14:19 > 0:14:24and she asked me if I had had the certificate checked.
0:14:24 > 0:14:29And the next thing I got a phone call from the police asking
0:14:29 > 0:14:32if they could come to see me and examine the certificates.
0:14:32 > 0:14:35And I was just really shocked!
0:14:35 > 0:14:38The rumour was that their dance teacher had committed such
0:14:38 > 0:14:43a major fraud that it affected almost all her students.
0:14:43 > 0:14:46It seemed she had been faking the results of the children's
0:14:46 > 0:14:50dancing exams and counterfeiting their certificates.
0:14:50 > 0:14:53Later on, we'll find out how and why she did it.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Just a few miles away from Marble Arch in central London
0:15:03 > 0:15:05is the district of Queensway.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Today, Westminster Trading Standards team are following up reports
0:15:09 > 0:15:13from a private investigator that a shop here is selling top-notch
0:15:13 > 0:15:17designer gear, but all of it is fake.
0:15:17 > 0:15:19They're used to seeing a few fake goods on sale,
0:15:19 > 0:15:22but a whole shopful would be remarkable.
0:15:22 > 0:15:24Watches, wallets and bags...
0:15:24 > 0:15:29The man on the left is the private investigator that called them in.
0:15:29 > 0:15:32He works on behalf of many of the designer labels whose goods
0:15:32 > 0:15:36have been counterfeited, and he's just made a test purchase
0:15:36 > 0:15:39at the suspect's shop and passed it to officer Frank King.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43The test purchaser on our behalf has asked for a Louis Vuitton item,
0:15:43 > 0:15:47and it's been supplied for the money in a box
0:15:47 > 0:15:49bearing the trade name Gucci,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53which leads us to believe that there must be Gucci items there as well.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Trading Standards now have all the evidence they need to raid the shop.
0:15:58 > 0:16:02Who's in charge? I'm from Westminster City Council, Trading Standards.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Looks like the private investigator was spot-on.
0:16:06 > 0:16:13This place is an emporium of the nation's most popular designer brands, but how many are fake?
0:16:13 > 0:16:16This is one of the items that were purchased earlier
0:16:16 > 0:16:22by the brand owner, Gucci, who confirmed that it was counterfeit.
0:16:22 > 0:16:24In addition to that, they're selling it for £40.
0:16:24 > 0:16:28To buyers, this all looks like bargain price designer gear,
0:16:28 > 0:16:31but they don't realise they are actually overpaying for fakes.
0:16:31 > 0:16:34A normal person coming into a shop set out such as this,
0:16:34 > 0:16:37they think the items up for sale are genuine.
0:16:38 > 0:16:40The price, the pure presentation,
0:16:40 > 0:16:44leads anybody to believe that they are buying a genuine item.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47The reports were that every last piece of clothing
0:16:47 > 0:16:50and all the handbags and belts are expensive fakes,
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and the team want a good nose around to check that's true.
0:16:54 > 0:16:59The jewellery on sale seems to be authentic, but after examining
0:16:59 > 0:17:03all the clothes and bags, it seems this really is a shop full of fakes.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07The store owner isn't on the premises,
0:17:07 > 0:17:11but has had a phone call from Trading Standards to give her some bad news.
0:17:11 > 0:17:13Her entire stock is being seized.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37Any bargain hunters who'd been shopping at this store will
0:17:37 > 0:17:41probably feel they'd been ripped off. But with all the stock seized,
0:17:41 > 0:17:45it's definitely the store owner who's lost out today.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48A very successful operation, bearing in mind the way in which this shop
0:17:48 > 0:17:52has displayed its goods, and the price being offered for the items.
0:17:52 > 0:17:5472 bags of evidence...
0:17:54 > 0:17:57approximate value is £10,000, we estimate, today.
0:18:05 > 0:18:09This country is losing a billion pounds a year to benefit fraud,
0:18:09 > 0:18:13and we've been following some of the people responsible
0:18:13 > 0:18:15for tracking down the fraudsters.
0:18:15 > 0:18:19In Hillingdon, west London, the local council benefit fraud team
0:18:19 > 0:18:22are about to raid another benefit fraudster.
0:18:22 > 0:18:25They believe he's used false documents
0:18:25 > 0:18:29to set up an identity in the name of Jean Singlan,
0:18:29 > 0:18:31purely to cheat the system.
0:18:32 > 0:18:36He's had £20,000 in housing and other benefits.
0:18:36 > 0:18:38But now it's time to wake him up.
0:18:40 > 0:18:43There are two men inside, but not who they're looking for,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46but there's post addressed to the suspect fraudster,
0:18:46 > 0:18:48and more of his letters lying around the flat.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52- What's the landlord's name?- Singlan.
0:18:52 > 0:18:58- What's his first name?- I don't know, I know his name is Singlan.
0:18:58 > 0:19:02Because there's post in this address for Mr Singlan.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03Who's opened the post?
0:19:03 > 0:19:08I don't know, because he's got the keys as well.
0:19:08 > 0:19:11- Why doesn't he take the bank statements with him?- I don't know.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Straightaway, the men have revealed that the target man
0:19:14 > 0:19:18supposedly owns this flat, but is renting it out to them,
0:19:18 > 0:19:20thus invalidating any housing benefit claim.
0:19:20 > 0:19:24- Who does this card belong to? - One of my friends.- What's his name?
0:19:24 > 0:19:29- Ali.- Ali what?- Ali... I don't know.
0:19:29 > 0:19:32Strange to have a friend trust you enough
0:19:32 > 0:19:36to look after his credit card, but you don't know his surname.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38And that's not the only thing that doesn't add up.
0:19:38 > 0:19:42The man has told officers he doesn't have a key for his own flat.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45It doesn't sound right to me, you've been here for a year
0:19:45 > 0:19:47and you don't have a key.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Your friend has the key but you don't have a key.
0:19:50 > 0:19:54- Yeah, but I can't make...- You can cut another key very easily.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58- But I can't.- What do you do when he's not here?
0:19:58 > 0:20:00All the time, I call him.
0:20:00 > 0:20:02- Do you wait outside to get into the house?- Yeah, that's it.
0:20:02 > 0:20:05This investigator can't be shown on television,
0:20:05 > 0:20:08but she's not convinced by their story.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11Their stories do not add up in any way. They just don't add up.
0:20:11 > 0:20:15For him not to have a key to the address, yet be living here...
0:20:15 > 0:20:17With such suspicious circumstances,
0:20:17 > 0:20:20the team decide to search the flat thoroughly.
0:20:23 > 0:20:26There are no antiques in the attic, but there's something
0:20:26 > 0:20:29that reveals a lot about this man's history.
0:20:29 > 0:20:32- Have you been to Italy? - No, I didn't.
0:20:32 > 0:20:35- You've never been to Italy? - I didn't.
0:20:35 > 0:20:39- So, why have you got an Italian ID card?- I don't have, man.
0:20:40 > 0:20:44- Who's Fateh Hareri...? - No, I didn't.
0:20:44 > 0:20:49- That's you, isn't it?- Yes, it's my picture.- It's your picture.
0:20:49 > 0:20:53- You said you're Fateh.- Just show me. No, no, just show me.
0:20:53 > 0:20:58- I'm telling you. - No, it's not my one, man.
0:20:58 > 0:20:59You said it's your picture.
0:20:59 > 0:21:01Yes, it's my picture, but it's not my one.
0:21:01 > 0:21:04Why would someone have your picture in their card -
0:21:04 > 0:21:07it's useless, isn't it? Give me your names.
0:21:12 > 0:21:14That's definitely you.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16Yeah...
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Although the suspect fake document isn't in the target name of Singlan,
0:21:20 > 0:21:23this man is still being arrested for fraud.
0:21:23 > 0:21:27I'm going to arrest you for possessing a false identification.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32Next, the team need to have the document analysed by specialists
0:21:32 > 0:21:35at the National Document Fraud Unit.
0:21:35 > 0:21:38This Italian ID document, which we think is a false document,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41was found at an address where we went to interrogate
0:21:41 > 0:21:44an arrest warrant with the police.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46We now need to have this document examined by yourselves,
0:21:46 > 0:21:48to let us know if it is false.
0:21:48 > 0:21:51- Yep, that's fine.- Thank you.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54It is inkjet-printed, quite a basic printing method.
0:21:54 > 0:21:57It results in lots of random dots of ink.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02All of this should be solid line print, litho printed,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04rather than inkjet-printed.
0:22:04 > 0:22:07This dark area of print should be Intaglio print,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09like a raised ink on the surface.
0:22:09 > 0:22:12But I can run my finger across it,
0:22:12 > 0:22:15and you can't feel any raised ink on there at all.
0:22:15 > 0:22:20After several tests, the expert is ready to give her final verdict.
0:22:20 > 0:22:24I can tell you it is counterfeit. It's completely made up.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27That means he can put whatever identity on here that he wants.
0:22:27 > 0:22:31I can produce a statement for you so you can prosecute this person.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34As a result of Hillingdon Council's operation,
0:22:34 > 0:22:37this man was sentenced to three months in jail
0:22:37 > 0:22:40for possession of a fake identity document.
0:22:40 > 0:22:44As an Algerian, he had no right to stay or work in the UK,
0:22:44 > 0:22:47but had used the fake ID to get a job nearby.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50The other man in the flat was later found
0:22:50 > 0:22:52to have used a fake French passport
0:22:52 > 0:22:55to get a job with the same employer as his friend.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58After the raid, he disappeared.
0:22:58 > 0:23:00The original target of the raid,
0:23:00 > 0:23:03a man using a fake identity in the name of Singlan
0:23:03 > 0:23:06to make a benefits claim, was not found.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08But the fake claim has been stopped.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18Up like a rocket. That was better.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21Young children across Britain are as eager as ever
0:23:21 > 0:23:24to become the performing stars of tomorrow.
0:23:24 > 0:23:27And sisters Kristina and Rebecca Towndrow
0:23:27 > 0:23:29dreamt of becoming ballerinas.
0:23:29 > 0:23:32They studied at the Dancing Lines Academy in Croydon, Surrey,
0:23:32 > 0:23:36and were passing their ballet exams with excellent grades.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40When I got my certificate, I went into school and showed my teacher
0:23:40 > 0:23:45and the head teacher, and then they said that I did very well.
0:23:45 > 0:23:48But the family had heard that their ballet teacher,
0:23:48 > 0:23:51Amanda Brugnoli-Lines, had been arrested.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53Her pupils were about to find out
0:23:53 > 0:23:55they weren't the brilliant young dancers
0:23:55 > 0:23:57their exam results suggested.
0:23:57 > 0:24:00And even the experienced detectives at Surrey police
0:24:00 > 0:24:02had never seen anything like it.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06We suspected that Amanda was basically forging
0:24:06 > 0:24:10the results of dance certificates.
0:24:10 > 0:24:12She would enter pupils into examinations,
0:24:12 > 0:24:16they would achieve a Grade C or maybe a Grade D,
0:24:16 > 0:24:20and she would increase those grades to a B or an A,
0:24:20 > 0:24:23to give the child a better result in the examination.
0:24:23 > 0:24:25The children at the dance school
0:24:25 > 0:24:28thought they were flying through their exams,
0:24:28 > 0:24:31but in truth, their teacher was faking their results.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34After each exam, the certificates with the grades
0:24:34 > 0:24:37were sent out to Amanda Brugnoli-Lines.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40She replaced them with fake ones she made herself,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42with much higher grades.
0:24:42 > 0:24:45Where Kristina and Rebecca thought they were getting distinctions,
0:24:45 > 0:24:48their real grades had only been passes.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51I couldn't imagine her doing anything like that at all.
0:24:51 > 0:24:54I was actually quite shocked, more than anything, when I found out.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57And with a full roster of pupils dancing at the academy,
0:24:57 > 0:25:00it was in their instructor's interest that they got good marks
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and kept paying for classes.
0:25:02 > 0:25:04If the marks their candidates receive
0:25:04 > 0:25:07are higher than they would otherwise be,
0:25:07 > 0:25:09this can increase their standing in the community,
0:25:09 > 0:25:11it can help their business,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14and they see it I think in many cases as a personal reflection
0:25:14 > 0:25:17of their standards as a teacher.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20And when the fraud was finally discovered,
0:25:20 > 0:25:21the police were left with the task
0:25:21 > 0:25:24of shattering all the young ballerinas' dreams.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26We spoke to all the students.
0:25:26 > 0:25:29Delivering that news was particularly difficult.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33There were children as young as three years old involved in this,
0:25:33 > 0:25:37and particularly children of a vulnerable disposition,
0:25:37 > 0:25:40they were told they were much better than they actually were,
0:25:40 > 0:25:42and the personal effect,
0:25:42 > 0:25:46the human effect on that, is quite devastating.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50Some of the students had actually used the certificates,
0:25:50 > 0:25:53or the grades contained within the certificates,
0:25:53 > 0:25:56to support university applications.
0:25:56 > 0:26:00Others, it was something they were making life decisions on -
0:26:00 > 0:26:04"Am I good enough perhaps to take a career in dance?"
0:26:04 > 0:26:07And some thought they were, rather incorrectly.
0:26:07 > 0:26:11For the girls, the fraud was a massive shock.
0:26:11 > 0:26:13The children were really let down,
0:26:13 > 0:26:18because they put so much into it, they put so much work into it,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21and effort, to be proud of themselves
0:26:21 > 0:26:24and to make the teacher proud of them.
0:26:24 > 0:26:28These are some of the certificates the girls received after exams.
0:26:28 > 0:26:30They thought they had done so well,
0:26:30 > 0:26:34but all of these had been doctored by Amanda Brugnoli-Lines.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39If they had known that they weren't getting the grades
0:26:39 > 0:26:41that would let them become professional dancers,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43they would have stopped having lessons.
0:26:43 > 0:26:46If I hadn't have got the good grades that I did
0:26:46 > 0:26:49and I was repeatedly getting lower grades,
0:26:49 > 0:26:52like I had actually got, I wouldn't have carried on lessons,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55I would have packed it in then. And not carried on.
0:26:55 > 0:26:57And if the girls had stopped dancing,
0:26:57 > 0:27:00it would have saved their mum a lot of money.
0:27:00 > 0:27:03You're looking at £10,000, you've got to be,
0:27:03 > 0:27:07including the extra coaching for exams,
0:27:07 > 0:27:11paying for the exams, the new uniform for exams.
0:27:11 > 0:27:16I really hate to think what the exact sum would be.
0:27:16 > 0:27:20Amanda Brugnoli-Lines was sentenced to two years imprisonment for fraud.
0:27:20 > 0:27:23She didn't help herself by telling police
0:27:23 > 0:27:25that she was the victim of a harassment campaign,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29and others at the school were responsible for the fraud.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31Her claim backfired when police proved
0:27:31 > 0:27:35that many of the threatening texts she had claimed to have received
0:27:35 > 0:27:37were sent from a phone she owned.
0:27:38 > 0:27:40And for young pupils like Rebecca,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43who thought they might be the dancing stars of tomorrow,
0:27:43 > 0:27:48the shock and betrayal was enough to put them right off dancing lessons.
0:27:48 > 0:27:50I really trusted my teacher,
0:27:50 > 0:27:55I thought I could let my hopes on her, and she's done this to me.
0:27:55 > 0:27:57That was the thing that hurt me more,
0:27:57 > 0:27:59the fact that she'd been hurt.
0:27:59 > 0:28:02And although this is the first time she's danced for a while,
0:28:02 > 0:28:04getting up and having a go again
0:28:04 > 0:28:08has left Rebecca in a more positive frame of mind about the future.
0:28:08 > 0:28:11I'd like to go again and start doing ballet again
0:28:11 > 0:28:14and try and get my hopes back up again.
0:28:21 > 0:28:24That's all from Fake Britain today. Bye for now.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Subtitles by Red Bee Media
0:28:40 > 0:28:43E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk