0:00:02 > 0:00:07Welcome to a world where nothing is quite as it seems.
0:00:07 > 0:00:09Welcome to Fake Britain.
0:00:09 > 0:00:12Police! Stay where you are!
0:00:22 > 0:00:24You're under arrest.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27In this series,
0:00:27 > 0:00:29I'll be investigating the world of the criminals
0:00:29 > 0:00:31who make their money at your expense.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34And I'm going to be showing you how NOT to get ripped off.
0:00:34 > 0:00:39Coming up, we're on the road with the illegal money-lending teams,
0:00:39 > 0:00:41fishing for loan sharks.
0:00:41 > 0:00:45We're here to execute a search warrant that's been issued by the magistrates
0:00:45 > 0:00:48in relation to illegal money-lending you've been conducting.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51We investigate the world of the autograph forgers,
0:00:51 > 0:00:53trying to part you from your money.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55That's awful.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58There's only four letters in "Pele" and he got three of 'em wrong.
0:00:58 > 0:01:00We visit Britain's biggest port -
0:01:00 > 0:01:03the frontline in the battle against the counterfeiters.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07We don't normally import British manufactured cigarettes from China.
0:01:07 > 0:01:09And the fake parking tickets
0:01:09 > 0:01:12designed to fool you into coughing up your cash.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15A lot of people felt they were duty-bound to pay up.
0:01:21 > 0:01:24Nowadays, getting a loan from a bank or building society
0:01:24 > 0:01:26is tougher than ever.
0:01:26 > 0:01:28But there are some people out there
0:01:28 > 0:01:31who are more than happy to put their cash in your pockets.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34The only trouble is, what they're doing is not only illegal,
0:01:34 > 0:01:36it can also destroy your life.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Welcome to the world of the fake loans.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42It's 7am and Alan Evans,
0:01:42 > 0:01:46head of the South West England Illegal Money-Lending Team,
0:01:46 > 0:01:49is about to start another typical day's work.
0:01:49 > 0:01:51Today, he's come to oversee a raid
0:01:51 > 0:01:53on the house of a suspected loan shark,
0:01:53 > 0:01:58an illegal money lender, offering loans that appear to be legitimate,
0:01:58 > 0:02:01but are anything but.
0:02:01 > 0:02:03We're going to the home of an alleged loan shark.
0:02:03 > 0:02:07Do the door! Do the door!
0:02:07 > 0:02:11Evidence would suggest that he's a prolific lender.
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Lending to vulnerable members of the community.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Once we arrest an individual, the hard work begins.
0:02:21 > 0:02:25We're here to execute a search warrant that's been issued by the magistrates
0:02:25 > 0:02:28in relation to illegal money-lending that you've been conducting.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31Alan's is one of several teams across Britain
0:02:31 > 0:02:33set up to address the problem of loan-sharking.
0:02:33 > 0:02:38There's been a phenomenal increase in the problem.
0:02:38 > 0:02:40We're finding our hotline...
0:02:40 > 0:02:43The calls on that have increased over 700%.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47Of course with the economic climate, the problem's going to get a lot worse.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50Loan sharks drag the victims, eventually,
0:02:50 > 0:02:53into a criminal lifestyle.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57The only way they can then eventually pay off these loans is
0:02:57 > 0:02:58...turning to crime.
0:02:58 > 0:03:02And during their search for evidence of any fake loans,
0:03:02 > 0:03:04the team turns up drugs.
0:03:04 > 0:03:06His search under way,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08Alan heads back to the police station
0:03:08 > 0:03:11to continue his investigation.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15The gentleman concerned was arrested and taken to the police station.
0:03:15 > 0:03:18He will now be processed and interviewed
0:03:18 > 0:03:21in relation to his possession of a banned substance
0:03:21 > 0:03:23and being a loan shark.
0:03:26 > 0:03:29Fake loans can ruin lives.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32One person who knows that only too well is Carol Highton,
0:03:32 > 0:03:34from Runcorn, in Cheshire.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38In 2005, her son Brian came into contact
0:03:38 > 0:03:41with someone offering to loan him money.
0:03:42 > 0:03:47My son Brian was a lovely, lovely boy. Everybody loved him.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51Brian had actually got involved with the wrong crowd, we'll say,
0:03:51 > 0:03:54the people he worked with, and his boss in particular.
0:03:54 > 0:03:58They used to meet after work on a Friday.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00Desperate to impress his new boss,
0:04:00 > 0:04:03Brian threw himself into a life of partying
0:04:03 > 0:04:04that was beyond his means,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07and one that came with a price.
0:04:07 > 0:04:11Before long, he was in debt to his boss for £300.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14Obviously, Brian didn't have £300 at the time.
0:04:14 > 0:04:19So somebody had said, "I tell you what, I do loans,
0:04:19 > 0:04:21"I lend money out to people and stuff.
0:04:21 > 0:04:23"I'll help you out if you want."
0:04:24 > 0:04:27The man offering the loan was Paul Nicholson.
0:04:27 > 0:04:29He appeared to be a legitimate money-lender,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33but he'd lied to get his money-lending licence,
0:04:33 > 0:04:34faking his application form
0:04:34 > 0:04:38to give his illegal operation a sheen of legitimacy.
0:04:38 > 0:04:42And then, four weeks down the line, he got told that,
0:04:42 > 0:04:46"I've got to charge you a bit extra. It's 90% on top."
0:04:46 > 0:04:49So that took it up to 570 straight away.
0:04:49 > 0:04:52He said, "We'll give you what's called a re-spin loan",
0:04:52 > 0:04:56and then that took the debt up to £3,400.
0:04:56 > 0:04:59And when he couldn't pay it back, the threats began.
0:04:59 > 0:05:02If Brian didn't get all the money together,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04they said that they were going to shoot his mum.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Unable to cope with the threats,
0:05:06 > 0:05:09Brian could see only one way out of his nightmare.
0:05:09 > 0:05:12And when Carol returned to her home one morning,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16she discovered just how desperate Brian had become.
0:05:16 > 0:05:19I went up the stairs and as I got to the top of me stairs,
0:05:19 > 0:05:22I turned left and there was my son, hanging.
0:05:24 > 0:05:27I still go to bed every night and cry for my son.
0:05:27 > 0:05:29Every morning I wake up and think,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33"Another day to get through without my son."
0:05:33 > 0:05:36That's the only way I can measure the grief.
0:05:36 > 0:05:40I still miss that boy of mine, I ache for him every day.
0:05:40 > 0:05:46But knowing the circumstances and the tragedy of how he died
0:05:46 > 0:05:50and the despair he must've been in... That haunts me, that.
0:05:50 > 0:05:51That haunts me.
0:05:54 > 0:05:59Later, we're back with the South West England Illegal Money-Lending Team
0:05:59 > 0:06:02on the trail of another suspected fake loan seller.
0:06:02 > 0:06:05We are from the South West Illegal Money-Lending Team.
0:06:10 > 0:06:15This autograph is the most valuable in the world for any living person.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19It's Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22Well, it would be, apart from the fact it's a fake.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26You see, autographs of the famous are very desirable
0:06:26 > 0:06:28and thousands of enthusiasts across the world
0:06:28 > 0:06:32will pay a lot of money to get the signature of the person they want.
0:06:32 > 0:06:35But as I found out, some are not worth the paper they're written on.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41Some autographs sell for thousands of pounds.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44Some for a little less.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48But there's a darker side to autograph collecting -
0:06:48 > 0:06:52one that seeks to make profit out of deception.
0:06:52 > 0:06:54Because as interest in collecting has risen,
0:06:54 > 0:06:57so have the opportunities for the fakers.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01Garry King is one of the country's foremost autograph experts.
0:07:01 > 0:07:06Today, he's on his way to inspect one autograph in particular
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and to give its owner some very bad news indeed.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12We're off to Weymouth to see a gentleman down there
0:07:12 > 0:07:16who's bought a Bruce Lee which he believes to be a fake,
0:07:16 > 0:07:20which he paid about 4,000 for.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23I started collecting when I was 40.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25The main ones I wanted to collect
0:07:25 > 0:07:29were sporting icons and film icons
0:07:29 > 0:07:30during my lifetime.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33Chris bought his Bruce Lee autograph from a shop
0:07:33 > 0:07:35while on holiday in the US.
0:07:35 > 0:07:37Although not run by Disney,
0:07:37 > 0:07:41the shop was located in the Disney World resort, Florida.
0:07:41 > 0:07:44I knew that Bruce Lee was a very collectable item
0:07:44 > 0:07:45and they had one on the wall,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48so I thought it would be a good investment.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51The only thing that brought suspicions was when we went back to Florida
0:07:51 > 0:07:53and we found out it had shut down.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Garry has arrived to give Chris his bad news.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Bruce Lee.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01You've sent me a scan
0:08:01 > 0:08:03and I have had a good look at it.
0:08:03 > 0:08:05I do think this is now a forgery.
0:08:05 > 0:08:08It's when you start comparing signatures
0:08:08 > 0:08:10that you really start to see the difference.
0:08:10 > 0:08:14These are two genuine examples of a Bruce Lee signature.
0:08:14 > 0:08:15You can actually see
0:08:15 > 0:08:18that they line up extremely well.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22Whereas, if we try that with yours,
0:08:22 > 0:08:25we can see that it doesn't line up.
0:08:25 > 0:08:27It's not just because of the difference in size,
0:08:27 > 0:08:30it's because of the difference in the spacing.
0:08:30 > 0:08:31It doesn't work at all.
0:08:31 > 0:08:34Now that you've seen that you've bought a fake,
0:08:34 > 0:08:37- how do you feel about that? - I feel a bit let down, really.
0:08:37 > 0:08:40No doubt you've got a certificate to go with it as well,
0:08:40 > 0:08:44which says this item is absolutely authentic.
0:08:44 > 0:08:45But now we know differently.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49- We do. It's a minefield. - It is a minefield, yeah.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Moving swiftly on.
0:08:51 > 0:08:56Looking through the rest of Chris' collection, all bought in the UK,
0:08:56 > 0:08:58Garry has more bad news.
0:08:58 > 0:09:02That's awful. There's only four letters in "Pele" and he's got three of them wrong.
0:09:02 > 0:09:06At first glance, I would say that Paul Newman is a forgery.
0:09:06 > 0:09:09Here we have George Foreman and Muhammed Ali.
0:09:09 > 0:09:12I have to say that Muhammed Ali is a forgery.
0:09:12 > 0:09:14The George Foreman, that is not right.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16John Wayne and Rock Hudson.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19Well, I can tell you that the John Wayne is certainly a forgery.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22This is not Clint Eastwood. The Clint and the Eastwood are too far apart.
0:09:22 > 0:09:26This is not Tiger Woods' signature.
0:09:26 > 0:09:29It's not even a very good representation of his signature at all.
0:09:29 > 0:09:33Larry Holmes. Again, it's not his signature.
0:09:33 > 0:09:36They are just cheap forgeries.
0:09:36 > 0:09:38Chris represents the tip of the iceberg
0:09:38 > 0:09:42in terms of amateur collectors who've been scammed by the forgers.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46Garry's news leaves him devastated.
0:09:46 > 0:09:48It's a massive blow.
0:09:48 > 0:09:50It's put a lot of doubt in my mind
0:09:50 > 0:09:55who I can trust that's in the business now.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59It was really quite bad, I've never seen anything like that.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01But Chris doesn't know what he's buying.
0:10:01 > 0:10:06He's bought them from a dealer who's a member of no association whatsoever,
0:10:06 > 0:10:07doesn't know what he's selling,
0:10:07 > 0:10:12and in fact has just sold Chris a complete load of rubbish.
0:10:12 > 0:10:17Later, the stars tell us what they think of the autograph fakers.
0:10:17 > 0:10:19HE GROWLS
0:10:19 > 0:10:21LAUGHTER
0:10:21 > 0:10:24Yes, yes, it makes me very angry.
0:10:24 > 0:10:28And we take a closer look at some of the worst forgeries.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31That should be spelt M-U-H,
0:10:31 > 0:10:34not M-O-H.
0:10:39 > 0:10:40Just look at this stuff.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Bags, toys, computer games, perfumes, clothing, watches...
0:10:44 > 0:10:46All brand-spanking new,
0:10:46 > 0:10:48but all 100% fake.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And this is just some of the illegal products
0:10:51 > 0:10:53that criminals try to smuggle into the country,
0:10:53 > 0:10:56all hidden amongst millions of tonnes of goods
0:10:56 > 0:10:59that come into Britain via its busiest container port.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03It's 9.30am at Felixstowe docks
0:11:03 > 0:11:07and UK Border Agency officer Andy Cartwright
0:11:07 > 0:11:10has come to take a closer look at a container
0:11:10 > 0:11:13that's just arrived from China.
0:11:13 > 0:11:16It's supposed to be carrying kitchen equipment,
0:11:16 > 0:11:20but Andy has reason to believe it contains something else.
0:11:20 > 0:11:23Basically, we've got a 20ft container.
0:11:23 > 0:11:25We've put it through our X-ray scanner
0:11:25 > 0:11:29and the scanner team have highlighted areas that we need to look at.
0:11:29 > 0:11:33Andy and his team set about looking inside.
0:11:33 > 0:11:35It's supposed to be dish drainers, kitchenware,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38and general kitchen utilities, really.
0:11:38 > 0:11:41It doesn't look like that at the moment, but everything's packaged up.
0:11:41 > 0:11:44Until we open the packages we can't tell.
0:11:44 > 0:11:48And it's not long before Andy's suspicions start to grow.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52We've just found a carton that's covered in carbon paper.
0:11:52 > 0:11:58It's unusual. You wouldn't expect to find cardboard with carbon paper on it in this type of container.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01And it's not just one carton,
0:12:01 > 0:12:04all the side boxes have got the same carbon paper on them
0:12:04 > 0:12:07and Andy thinks he knows why.
0:12:07 > 0:12:11Somebody's tried to shield X-rays,
0:12:11 > 0:12:14possibly, by the use of carbon paper.
0:12:14 > 0:12:16I'm not aware that that actually works,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19but somebody's tried it.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23There would be no other reason to have boxes coated in carbon paper.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26When the team start opening the main load,
0:12:26 > 0:12:30it's soon clear why somebody would want to try and conceal it.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Basically. it's a master carton with cigarettes in.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35They appear to be Regal brand.
0:12:35 > 0:12:37My guess would be that they're counterfeit.
0:12:37 > 0:12:39Chances are the rest of the load's the same.
0:12:39 > 0:12:42We've got a packet of 20 cigarettes.
0:12:42 > 0:12:46It's got markings that you'd expect to see on a packet of cigarettes.
0:12:46 > 0:12:49There's a health warning on the rear of the packet.
0:12:49 > 0:12:53On the side it says they're made in the United Kingdom
0:12:53 > 0:12:55by Imperial Tobacco Ltd.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59That in itself would lead you to suspect that something's wrong.
0:12:59 > 0:13:04We don't normally import British-manufactured cigarettes from China.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06They're definitely not kitchen equipment.
0:13:06 > 0:13:08Might be in some kitchens, but not in mine.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11For the customs officers of the Port of Felixstowe
0:13:11 > 0:13:14this kind of incident is far from rare.
0:13:14 > 0:13:18Felixstowe is responsible for over 40% of all container shipping
0:13:18 > 0:13:19coming into the UK.
0:13:19 > 0:13:22The Border Agency officers here
0:13:22 > 0:13:25are the thin blue line between UK consumers
0:13:25 > 0:13:29and the flood of fake goods coming from the Far East.
0:13:29 > 0:13:32Felixstowe's importance to the UK economy
0:13:32 > 0:13:34can't really be underestimated.
0:13:34 > 0:13:40It's a massive element in the UK supply chain and logistics base.
0:13:40 > 0:13:44We get a huge range of counterfeited products through Felixstowe.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46We've had medicines counterfeited,
0:13:46 > 0:13:50contraceptive devices counterfeited, brakes, car parts.
0:13:50 > 0:13:53There's even been counterfeit aircraft parts.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56Anything that's produced and costs money
0:13:56 > 0:13:57and is expensive to produce,
0:13:57 > 0:14:00somebody is likely to try and counterfeit it.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03Andy's team set about unloading their haul
0:14:03 > 0:14:05but before they get too far,
0:14:05 > 0:14:08something stops them in their tracks.
0:14:08 > 0:14:12Having looked at the door now, there appears to be a device.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15It may well be an electrical device.
0:14:15 > 0:14:18I don't want to mess around with it because I don't know what's in it.
0:14:18 > 0:14:24There has been information of booby-trapped devices found in containers.
0:14:24 > 0:14:27There's been explosives, there's been poisons.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Normal containers we get in here don't have attachments like this on it.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32There's something seriously wrong.
0:14:32 > 0:14:37We'll wait for the police's decision and go along with their wishes.
0:14:37 > 0:14:43Coming up, the police take a closer look at that mysterious device.
0:14:49 > 0:14:52Isn't it a horrible feeling
0:14:52 > 0:14:53finding one of these on our car?
0:14:53 > 0:14:54A parking ticket.
0:14:54 > 0:14:59But after seeing our next story, you might want to take a closer look at that ticket.
0:14:59 > 0:15:00It might not be what it seems.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03If it's anything like this one, it could be a fake.
0:15:04 > 0:15:07Wolverhampton on a wet Tuesday afternoon
0:15:07 > 0:15:10and the city's top Trading Standards officer
0:15:10 > 0:15:13is inspecting a local car park.
0:15:13 > 0:15:16It's a prime parking location for people who want to shop here
0:15:16 > 0:15:20or for people who work in some of the surrounding offices.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24It might not look like much, but two years ago,
0:15:24 > 0:15:27this space was at the centre of a new type of fakery
0:15:27 > 0:15:30which has since spread across the country.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33Sales manager John Walton was one of the people using the car park.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I was doing shopping for my mother, which I do most weeks.
0:15:38 > 0:15:39I've always parked there.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43It's been a derelict space for a number of years now.
0:15:43 > 0:15:47I parked there, I walked up to the market way up there.
0:15:47 > 0:15:51But when he came back, he was in for a shock.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53This official ticket was on my windscreen.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56It was signed and folded up,
0:15:56 > 0:15:58it was all printed properly
0:15:58 > 0:16:00and it was stuck to my windscreen
0:16:00 > 0:16:03in a proper envelope that traffic wardens use.
0:16:03 > 0:16:05I thought it was from Wolverhampton Council.
0:16:05 > 0:16:11The ticket cost John £85 and he wasn't the only motorist to get such a penalty
0:16:11 > 0:16:15from a company calling itself Midland Parking Solutions.
0:16:17 > 0:16:21Wolverhampton Trading Standards were soon getting plenty of complaints.
0:16:21 > 0:16:28When Peter's team looked into them, it was clear the tickets were fakes.
0:16:28 > 0:16:31On the tickets they said, "Working with Wolverhampton City Commerce"
0:16:31 > 0:16:36and a lot of people assumed that meant they were working with the city council,
0:16:36 > 0:16:40because they'd laid that statement out in the way the council does on its own parking tickets.
0:16:40 > 0:16:45The other issue was they were quoting legislation which only applied to local authorities.
0:16:45 > 0:16:50So it made it look as though the company had a sort of statutory basis for doing this
0:16:50 > 0:16:54and as a result, a lot of people felt they were duty-bound to pay up.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Not only were these parking tickets fakes,
0:16:56 > 0:17:01but they were deliberately copied to look just like the official ones.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02I've got two tickets here.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05That's the city council one.
0:17:05 > 0:17:07That's an MPS one.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10What we believe MPS did, was acquired a council parking ticket.
0:17:10 > 0:17:15We believe they then scanned them and simply amended some of the council data
0:17:15 > 0:17:17to be their own data
0:17:17 > 0:17:19because the tickets are very similar.
0:17:19 > 0:17:21A lot of people who complained to the council
0:17:21 > 0:17:26believed the council had issued these tickets, or at least MPS were a council contractor.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30Peter and his team were on the heels of the MPS boss Cliff Hoffman.
0:17:30 > 0:17:33They decided to raid his premises.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37We found evidence of round about £30,000
0:17:37 > 0:17:39over the period they issued the tickets.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41They probably made more than that
0:17:41 > 0:17:43because their records were quite sketchy.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Peter brought charges against Cliff Hoffman.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49It was hoped this would force him to stop,
0:17:49 > 0:17:52but instead, he just changed his tactics,
0:17:52 > 0:17:55moving from fake tickets, to fake clamping,
0:17:55 > 0:17:57as Trevor Simms discovered when he parked here,
0:17:57 > 0:18:02in a quiet side street on his way to watch his beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers.
0:18:02 > 0:18:05We're all season ticket holders at the Wolves.
0:18:05 > 0:18:07I've been coming up for 15, 16 years.
0:18:07 > 0:18:10It seemed to be, park at the same spot.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14We came down, parked here, before we went up to match. Never had no problems.
0:18:14 > 0:18:17It's a pain in the bum to get out after the match,
0:18:17 > 0:18:20but parking - there's never been a problem.
0:18:20 > 0:18:23But at the end of the match, there was a problem.
0:18:23 > 0:18:26It was cold, miserable, lost 1-0.
0:18:26 > 0:18:28Came back, my car wasn't there.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31Then someone tapped me on the shoulder and said,
0:18:31 > 0:18:33"Excuse me, have you had your car gone?"
0:18:33 > 0:18:35I said "Yeah, ours is gone as well."
0:18:35 > 0:18:36"Ours is gone as well." I thought,
0:18:36 > 0:18:40"What the hell's going on. Where have all these cars disappeared?"
0:18:40 > 0:18:42One of the other guys came up and says,
0:18:42 > 0:18:44"Have you seen that on the wall?"
0:18:44 > 0:18:46It was just a small sign saying
0:18:46 > 0:18:50that if you park here, you will get clamped.
0:18:50 > 0:18:52The sign belonged to MPS Parking
0:18:52 > 0:18:55and when Trevor phoned up to ask where his car was,
0:18:55 > 0:19:01he was told if he wanted it back, it would be a whopping £450.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04I was absolutely livid inside, I really were.
0:19:04 > 0:19:10I just felt like someone had come up to me with a gun and said,
0:19:10 > 0:19:12"Give me all your money in your wallet
0:19:12 > 0:19:15"or else I'm going to blow your brains out."
0:19:15 > 0:19:17What made it worse for Trevor
0:19:17 > 0:19:21is that the clampers themselves were a complete fake.
0:19:21 > 0:19:25The company didn't have an SIA licence to clamp.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28The people they used to physically do the clamping
0:19:28 > 0:19:31were actually door supervisors, i.e. bouncers,
0:19:31 > 0:19:32not authorised clampers.
0:19:32 > 0:19:34So what they were doing was wholly unlawful.
0:19:34 > 0:19:40The case came to court and Cliff Hoffman was jailed for six months.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43I did inside get a nice, warm feeling to think,
0:19:43 > 0:19:47"Well, you know what it's like now you've been clamped up now, don't you?
0:19:47 > 0:19:50"It's your turn. Let's see how you like it."
0:19:57 > 0:20:00We're at Autographica,
0:20:00 > 0:20:02the world's largest autograph show.
0:20:02 > 0:20:06People have come from all over Britain to meet the stars
0:20:06 > 0:20:08and to buy and sell their autographs.
0:20:08 > 0:20:11- My hand's getting very tired. - I just love to meet the people.
0:20:11 > 0:20:14Very nice.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18Autographica is a model of the legitimate side of the industry.
0:20:18 > 0:20:20They're certainly all authentic signatures,
0:20:20 > 0:20:22there's no question about that.
0:20:22 > 0:20:28The stars themselves are equally concerned about people taking advantage of their fans.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31There's nothing like seeing your autograph on a photo
0:20:31 > 0:20:33that you know you didn't write.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35It's really a bad, bad situation.
0:20:35 > 0:20:38I was appalled when I heard that people were selling things
0:20:38 > 0:20:41that weren't celebrities' actual autographs.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43I can see that if you want to be unscrupulous
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and make a bit of money on the side, you could fake it, couldn't you?
0:20:47 > 0:20:50For someone to take advantage of that and say,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52"This is so-and-so's autograph",
0:20:52 > 0:20:56and it really isn't, that's lying.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58It makes me very angry.
0:20:58 > 0:21:01It doesn't have integrity, that bothers me.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03Telling real autographs from the forgeries
0:21:03 > 0:21:08is made harder by the fact that it's common practice in the entertainment industry
0:21:08 > 0:21:12to give out celebrity signatures not signed by the stars themselves.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Garry King keeps a folder of ones to watch out for.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17A secretarial signature
0:21:17 > 0:21:21is one where a secretary of the person
0:21:21 > 0:21:26has signed the item on behalf of the star.
0:21:26 > 0:21:28So they have said to them, "Sign my mail for me."
0:21:28 > 0:21:30And they sign it.
0:21:30 > 0:21:33So here we have a Clint Eastwood secretarial signature.
0:21:33 > 0:21:38That's the standard one. If you write to Clint Eastwood, that's what you're likely to get back.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41If it looks exactly like that, it's not Clint Eastwood,
0:21:41 > 0:21:42it's his secretary.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45Here we have David and Victoria Beckham.
0:21:45 > 0:21:49It's quite a common one to find,
0:21:49 > 0:21:51but both of them are rubber stamps
0:21:51 > 0:21:54so they're not real signatures at all.
0:21:54 > 0:21:58But under an eyeglass like this
0:21:58 > 0:22:00you can see them.
0:22:01 > 0:22:04The celebrities also employ technology
0:22:04 > 0:22:09to keep up with the thousands of signed items their fans ask for.
0:22:09 > 0:22:11There's other things to look for.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Autopens - that's a machine that creates a signature using a pen.
0:22:16 > 0:22:20So if it's on a photograph or on an album page, or indeed anything,
0:22:20 > 0:22:23it will look just like a real signature
0:22:23 > 0:22:24because it's been created with a pen.
0:22:24 > 0:22:29Autopens and secretarial signatures are not done to defraud fans,
0:22:29 > 0:22:34but rather to keep their insatiable appetite for signatures satisfied.
0:22:34 > 0:22:37However, unscrupulous traders will try and take advantage
0:22:37 > 0:22:40and sell them as if they were the real thing.
0:22:40 > 0:22:43This is a Neil Armstrong autopen signature.
0:22:43 > 0:22:47Neil Armstrong is a very much in-demand signature.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50One of those photographs, authentically signed,
0:22:50 > 0:22:54could easily cost you £3,000 or £4,000.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58Printed facsimile signatures are also common
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and fraudsters have been known to take advantage of these too.
0:23:01 > 0:23:02This is a good one -
0:23:02 > 0:23:04it's a Bobby Moore signature.
0:23:04 > 0:23:07That one's actually printed,
0:23:07 > 0:23:10but the person who tried to sell it as genuine
0:23:10 > 0:23:14has added some ink to the signature and then smudged it
0:23:14 > 0:23:18to give the impression that it is a genuinely signed item,
0:23:18 > 0:23:21when, in fact, it's just a printed signature from a book.
0:23:21 > 0:23:25There are plenty of out-and-out forgeries as well.
0:23:25 > 0:23:28That should be spelt M-U-H,
0:23:28 > 0:23:31not M-O-H.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33Here we have Bob Marley
0:23:33 > 0:23:37on a photograph that was printed after he died.
0:23:37 > 0:23:42A quick look online shows where these types of fakes end up -
0:23:42 > 0:23:44on sale to you.
0:23:44 > 0:23:50There are two very good examples of bad Michael Jackson forgeries.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54If we look at this, we can see that the lines are wavy,
0:23:54 > 0:23:58there are so many mistakes in it, it's so obviously a fake.
0:23:58 > 0:24:03That particular signature is currently on offer at £195.
0:24:03 > 0:24:06Anybody that buys that will certainly have a fake signature,
0:24:06 > 0:24:08no question about that one whatsoever.
0:24:08 > 0:24:12Autograph collecting might be a hobby for some,
0:24:12 > 0:24:13but it's a livelihood for others.
0:24:13 > 0:24:17Over the past three, four, five years,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19I have known a number of dealers
0:24:19 > 0:24:23who have either given up, or even gone bankrupt in some cases,
0:24:23 > 0:24:27because so much of their business is taken away
0:24:27 > 0:24:29by people on the internet auction sites
0:24:29 > 0:24:32selling items that can always be lower
0:24:32 > 0:24:34than the price of the genuine item.
0:24:34 > 0:24:37Later on, we meet a fake Sean Connery...
0:24:37 > 0:24:41- I've seen much better fakes than this.- A fake Laurel and Hardy...
0:24:41 > 0:24:44All of the letters actually bear very little comparison.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47..and the woman who faked them.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56In their battle against fake loans,
0:24:56 > 0:24:59the South West England Illegal Money-Lending Team
0:24:59 > 0:25:01is in action once again.
0:25:01 > 0:25:03Today, head of the unit Alan Evans
0:25:03 > 0:25:08is after not one, but two suspected loan sharks.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10So what we're looking at doing today
0:25:10 > 0:25:13is taking a local loan shark
0:25:13 > 0:25:17and to actually destroy, dismantle and disrupt,
0:25:17 > 0:25:19wherever we can, these individuals.
0:25:19 > 0:25:23Alan's team head off to the main suspect's house to arrest him.
0:25:23 > 0:25:28We're out this morning with the police and other agencies
0:25:28 > 0:25:33to execute a warrant at the home address of a local businessman
0:25:33 > 0:25:36who's suspected of being a loan shark.
0:25:36 > 0:25:42At the house, the suspect's family get an unexpected wake-up call.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45We are officers from the South West Illegal Money-Lending Team.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50We are here with the police and Trading Standards and we have a warrant to search your premises.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53Take us through to the room. No, we can't shut the door. We need to explain.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55But there's a problem.
0:25:55 > 0:25:57To the team's frustration,
0:25:57 > 0:26:00the suspect himself is nowhere to be seen.
0:26:00 > 0:26:03Can you come back into this room so I can speak to you, please?
0:26:03 > 0:26:07Come on. Let's get some order in here. Right, now, listen.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09When did your husband leave the house?
0:26:09 > 0:26:12We're going to be searching the whole of the house, OK?
0:26:12 > 0:26:14While they start the search,
0:26:14 > 0:26:18Alan is left to work out where his alleged loan sharks might have gone.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25The sale of fake loans often leaves a trail of destruction in its wake.
0:26:25 > 0:26:29Carol Highton's son Brian committed suicide
0:26:29 > 0:26:32after falling into debt with a loan shark.
0:26:33 > 0:26:36For two years, Carol fought for justice for Brian.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39Eventually, she found out about a new initiative,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42the North West Illegal Money-Lending Team,
0:26:42 > 0:26:45set up to deal with exactly this problem.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48I went to see the head of this whole Illegal Money-Lending Team.
0:26:48 > 0:26:52I told her everything and she said,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54"I can't make any promises that we can do anything
0:26:54 > 0:26:56"in relation to your son's case,
0:26:56 > 0:26:59"but what I will say to you is
0:26:59 > 0:27:01"we will certainly look into things."
0:27:04 > 0:27:08Cheshire Police had also been investigating Paul Nicholson.
0:27:08 > 0:27:12Within a matter of days, together with the Illegal Money-Lending Team,
0:27:12 > 0:27:15they arrested Nicholson and raided his home,
0:27:15 > 0:27:19where they found large quantities of cash and weapons.
0:27:19 > 0:27:20They also discovered
0:27:20 > 0:27:23he'd faked his application for a money-lending licence,
0:27:23 > 0:27:25having lied about previous convictions.
0:27:25 > 0:27:28At court, he was found guilty on 20 counts
0:27:28 > 0:27:31and given an indefinite life sentence.
0:27:32 > 0:27:34He was charged with illegal money-lending,
0:27:34 > 0:27:37he was charged with a number of blackmails
0:27:37 > 0:27:40and he was also charged with rape, and that tells you something.
0:27:40 > 0:27:42Illegal debts, by the very nature of them,
0:27:42 > 0:27:44are not enforceable by law.
0:27:44 > 0:27:46So the only way that you can enforce those debts
0:27:46 > 0:27:48is by fear and intimidation
0:27:48 > 0:27:50and he took it to extremes.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52He'd got the community in fear.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55He destroyed people's lives.
0:27:55 > 0:28:00Every time "guilty" got called... Oh, honestly, it was just...
0:28:00 > 0:28:02I wanted to scream.
0:28:02 > 0:28:04It's mixed feelings.
0:28:04 > 0:28:06You want to scream with happiness -
0:28:06 > 0:28:11- at last this- BLEEP- - sorry - has got convicted.
0:28:11 > 0:28:14But then at the same time, I'm sat in a courtroom
0:28:14 > 0:28:17having to listen to everything he did to other people
0:28:17 > 0:28:20which echoed what he did to my child.
0:28:23 > 0:28:29Coming up, Alan finds his suspected loan sharks and a ton of their cash.
0:28:29 > 0:28:33In this bag alone is around about £50,000.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43At Felixstowe docks, a Border Agency team
0:28:43 > 0:28:47have been forced to stop their interception of a massive haul of fake cigarettes
0:28:47 > 0:28:49after discovering this -
0:28:49 > 0:28:53an electronic device attached to the door of the container.
0:28:53 > 0:28:57Before they can inspect it, they want to make sure it's safe.
0:28:57 > 0:29:00We're waiting for a Suffolk police unit to attend
0:29:00 > 0:29:01to assess the situation.
0:29:01 > 0:29:03When they do get there,
0:29:03 > 0:29:05Suffolk police inspect the device.
0:29:05 > 0:29:10The team wait anxiously while an officer talks it through with an expert.
0:29:10 > 0:29:12After a thorough discussion,
0:29:12 > 0:29:14the police conclude it's safe to remove it.
0:29:14 > 0:29:15What they've found
0:29:15 > 0:29:19is a highly sophisticated electronic smuggling tool.
0:29:19 > 0:29:22It's about the size of a large hard drive from a computer.
0:29:22 > 0:29:26It's sealed, very well-made,
0:29:26 > 0:29:31and states that certain parts of it should be pointed towards the sky.
0:29:31 > 0:29:34The fact that it should be pointing towards the sky
0:29:34 > 0:29:36would tell me it's a GPS device.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Somebody wants to know
0:29:38 > 0:29:42when this container door has been opened, basically.
0:29:42 > 0:29:46The device appears to have been triggered magnetically.
0:29:46 > 0:29:49From when the doors open, it operates a magnetic switch
0:29:49 > 0:29:53and that has quite possibly told the smuggling organisation
0:29:53 > 0:29:57that the container's been opened and that their load has been compromised.
0:29:57 > 0:29:59It's a first for me. I've never seen one like this.
0:29:59 > 0:30:03Whoever the tracker is meant to alert could be anywhere.
0:30:03 > 0:30:08Wherever they are, they now know that thanks to the UK Border Agency,
0:30:08 > 0:30:10their fake load has travelled across the world
0:30:10 > 0:30:13to end up in the hands of the authorities.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18On the other side of the port, team leader Karen Middleditch
0:30:18 > 0:30:22is checking through another massive haul of counterfeit goods.
0:30:22 > 0:30:27We have a full 40ft container load from China,
0:30:27 > 0:30:32initially declared as handbags, shoes and purses.
0:30:32 > 0:30:37But 20 years in customs work has given Karen a nose for hooky gear.
0:30:37 > 0:30:39I wasn't happy with the paperwork.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42The values were declared as very, very low,
0:30:42 > 0:30:45like 1 per pair of shoes.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47It just didn't seem like a proper load,
0:30:47 > 0:30:49a proper invoice.
0:30:49 > 0:30:51The smugglers have again made every effort
0:30:51 > 0:30:54to obscure the true nature of their load.
0:30:54 > 0:30:58Basically, this was the cover load of the consignment.
0:30:58 > 0:31:00We have the shopping trollies which are here.
0:31:00 > 0:31:05There's metal fittings for shelving.
0:31:05 > 0:31:08In this, it looks like possibly a sofa.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Behind the cover load, the massive fake haul
0:31:11 > 0:31:14is a mixture of different brands and products.
0:31:14 > 0:31:18At the front are thousands and thousands of counterfeit trainers.
0:31:18 > 0:31:20This is what I have today.
0:31:21 > 0:31:25These are Adidas. We've now got some Nike trainers over here.
0:31:25 > 0:31:28These aren't too bad a fake.
0:31:28 > 0:31:33The only problem is they've just used the Nike's trade mark.
0:31:33 > 0:31:37We've got Converse Allstars now and there's 20 pairs per carton
0:31:37 > 0:31:40as opposed to 12 of the Nike and the Adidas.
0:31:40 > 0:31:45Empty watch box with Rolex's brand name on it.
0:31:45 > 0:31:50There is a possibility that there could be counterfeit Rolex watches
0:31:50 > 0:31:52somewhere else within the load.
0:31:52 > 0:31:55Fake watches, fake boxes, jewellery, handbags
0:31:55 > 0:31:58and 6,000 pairs of trainers.
0:31:58 > 0:32:00It's a marathon haul for Karen.
0:32:00 > 0:32:02Not a bad morning's work.
0:32:02 > 0:32:04The seizure we've got today
0:32:04 > 0:32:10is around £1.5 million to £2 million worth in value on the street.
0:32:10 > 0:32:13That's the biggest one we've had this year.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19Back at the fake fags seizure,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22and officers have discovered another desperate ruse by the smugglers
0:32:22 > 0:32:26to literally throw them off the scent.
0:32:26 > 0:32:29Inside these cartons they've put coffee beans.
0:32:29 > 0:32:34The reason why we have seen coffee beans in concealments before
0:32:34 > 0:32:38is to put detector dogs off the scent.
0:32:38 > 0:32:42These are pretty stale, so I'm not sure how effective they would have been.
0:32:42 > 0:32:45It's another unusual aspect to this particular load.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48But it's too late to put these officers off.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51A quick tally and they've got a total.
0:32:51 > 0:32:56The final total - 3.699 million cigarettes. It's an awful lot.
0:32:56 > 0:33:00From a duty-able point of view, about £750,000.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03You know, it's very satisfying.
0:33:03 > 0:33:04At the end of the day,
0:33:04 > 0:33:07we're depriving an organised crime syndicate
0:33:07 > 0:33:10from a large amount of money.
0:33:10 > 0:33:13That's what we're here for. That's what people want to do.
0:33:13 > 0:33:16That's why they come to work - to find smuggled goods, illicit goods,
0:33:16 > 0:33:19illegally imported goods. Unsafe goods as well.
0:33:27 > 0:33:29In the world of autograph collecting,
0:33:29 > 0:33:32we've seen the shocking tricks some forgers will resort to
0:33:32 > 0:33:35to get memorabilia collectors to part with their cash.
0:33:35 > 0:33:41The person has added some ink to the signature and then smudged it
0:33:41 > 0:33:44to give the impression that it is a genuinely signed item.
0:33:44 > 0:33:48But not all signature-forgers get away with it.
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Three years ago, Trading Standards' Steve Adie
0:33:50 > 0:33:54received a complaint from a disgruntled autograph collector.
0:33:54 > 0:33:57The nature of the complaint from a member of the public
0:33:57 > 0:34:00who'd bought an autograph via eBay's website
0:34:00 > 0:34:03was that the autograph was purported to be that of Sean Connery
0:34:03 > 0:34:08but the purchaser had doubts that it was actually signed by Sean Connery.
0:34:08 > 0:34:12The autograph was sold by a dealer called Louise Marney.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Trading Standards got in touch with Garry King
0:34:14 > 0:34:17to act as an expert witness.
0:34:17 > 0:34:21Now, this is the Louise Marney example of Sean Connery.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25These three examples here are all Sean Connery signatures taken from documents.
0:34:25 > 0:34:29As you can see, the S, again,
0:34:29 > 0:34:31is nothing like Sean Connery's S.
0:34:31 > 0:34:36Sean's S tends to look like a swan and leans back slightly,
0:34:36 > 0:34:41whereas Louise Marney's S bears no resemblance to a swan whatsoever.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The C, again, is quite a large C.
0:34:44 > 0:34:48She comes well down below the 'onnery' part of Connery,
0:34:48 > 0:34:50whereas Sean never does.
0:34:50 > 0:34:55The Y on 'Connery' has a very curving tail,
0:34:55 > 0:35:00whereas Sean almost always comes straight down.
0:35:00 > 0:35:03I've seen much better fakes than this for Sean Connery,
0:35:03 > 0:35:06but that's not a good example at all.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11Garry's report was enough to initiate a raid on Louise Marney's home,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13where they found more dubious signatures.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15This time, Laurel and Hardy's,
0:35:15 > 0:35:20which turned out to be another fine mess she'd got herself into.
0:35:20 > 0:35:24All of the letters actually bear very little comparison
0:35:24 > 0:35:26with the ones which Louise Marney has been doing.
0:35:26 > 0:35:32And her Oliver Hardy autograph would appear to have been signed from beyond the grave.
0:35:32 > 0:35:34Oliver Hardy would have actually been dead
0:35:34 > 0:35:38when the felt-tip pen was first brought onto the market in 1964.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41Ollie died in 1957.
0:35:42 > 0:35:45But Laurel and Hardy weren't the only fake signatures
0:35:45 > 0:35:49that Steve was able to link Louise Marney to.
0:35:49 > 0:35:51We discovered that Louise Marney
0:35:51 > 0:35:56had purchased 1,500 celebrity photographs.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00Those photographs subsequently appeared on eBay
0:36:00 > 0:36:03as signed autographed photos.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08You've got sports stars, movie stars of all descriptions, pop stars
0:36:08 > 0:36:10and people like Princess Diana.
0:36:10 > 0:36:11We were able to show
0:36:11 > 0:36:15that almost 5,000 celebrity autographs had been sold
0:36:15 > 0:36:20giving a monetary value of £30,000.
0:36:20 > 0:36:23With the case against her overwhelming,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25she soon found herself in court.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29She denied that she was aware that they were forgeries.
0:36:29 > 0:36:31Her explanation was that some other person
0:36:31 > 0:36:36had provided her with autographed photos to sell.
0:36:36 > 0:36:41Louise Marney was convicted of fraud and received a suspended 42-week prison sentence
0:36:41 > 0:36:44and 200 hours of community service.
0:36:44 > 0:36:47There's undoubtedly other victims out there
0:36:47 > 0:36:51and those victims will be perhaps unaware at this stage
0:36:51 > 0:36:53that they have a forged autograph
0:36:53 > 0:36:56and they may well have passed them on to others,
0:36:56 > 0:36:59or will pass them on to others in the future.
0:37:04 > 0:37:09With me is Dave Davies from the Autograph Fair Trade Association Limited, AFTAL.
0:37:09 > 0:37:13- Talk to me about these.- There's two images of Sir Geoff Hurst,
0:37:13 > 0:37:16World Cup 1966, scoring the goal.
0:37:16 > 0:37:20- One is genuine and one is a fake. Now, Dom, which one's which?
0:37:20 > 0:37:22As a layman, I haven't got a clue here.
0:37:22 > 0:37:26- Because that's black and white - too obvious - that's genuine.- Wrong.
0:37:26 > 0:37:29We need to stress right from the off,
0:37:29 > 0:37:32that not all autographs are fake.
0:37:32 > 0:37:35There are thousands and thousands of autographs that are genuine.
0:37:35 > 0:37:39We know that. How do we tell which ones are fake and which ones aren't?
0:37:39 > 0:37:42It's all about the person you buy it from.
0:37:42 > 0:37:47Be safe and secure and stick to somebody that is qualified in doing what they're doing.
0:37:47 > 0:37:51People think because you have a certificate of authenticity, that's it.
0:37:51 > 0:37:55- So could the certificate be a fake as well as the autograph?- That's right.
0:37:55 > 0:37:57You could go to an AFTAL dealer.
0:37:57 > 0:37:59What exactly is the AFTAL organisation?
0:37:59 > 0:38:03We're an association of dealers and all these dealers have been checked out.
0:38:03 > 0:38:06At the moment, we are the only UK organisation
0:38:06 > 0:38:08that are policing the autograph market.
0:38:08 > 0:38:11It's better to be safe than sorry.
0:38:17 > 0:38:21Alan Evans is on the trail of fake loans.
0:38:21 > 0:38:24His team is searching a suspected loan shark's home,
0:38:24 > 0:38:27- but he's long gone. - When did he leave the house?
0:38:27 > 0:38:29However, it takes more than that
0:38:29 > 0:38:32to make Alan give up on a suspected loan shark.
0:38:32 > 0:38:36And some new information sees him back on the road.
0:38:36 > 0:38:39We're going to this man's place of business
0:38:39 > 0:38:41and we hope to effect an arrest there.
0:38:45 > 0:38:47And there he is.
0:38:47 > 0:38:50His office might not look like much,
0:38:50 > 0:38:53but Alan believes he's linked to millions of pounds of fake loans.
0:38:53 > 0:38:56You don't have to say anything but it may harm your defence
0:38:56 > 0:39:00if you do not mention, when questioned, something which you later rely on in court.
0:39:00 > 0:39:03So now we'll take you back to the police station
0:39:03 > 0:39:06where we can get through the process of interviewing you and that.
0:39:06 > 0:39:08One down, one to go.
0:39:08 > 0:39:12There is a second suspect we're still looking for at this point in time, yes.
0:39:12 > 0:39:17And it's not long before he too turns up and is promptly cuffed.
0:39:17 > 0:39:20He'll be taken to the police station, booked in,
0:39:20 > 0:39:25and he'll be questioned later on by officers from the Illegal Money-Lending Team.
0:39:25 > 0:39:29A very good morning's work but it's going to be a long day to come.
0:39:29 > 0:39:32His suspected loan shark is in the bag.
0:39:32 > 0:39:37Alan heads back to the house to see if the search there has uncovered any useful evidence
0:39:37 > 0:39:40and his undercover team have some good news.
0:39:40 > 0:39:44Just about every area we went into, we found large amounts of cash.
0:39:44 > 0:39:48In this bag alone is around about £50,000.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52Between the three bags here, we believe we have around about £200,000 in cash.
0:39:52 > 0:39:56Every drawer in every bedroom had large amounts of money,
0:39:56 > 0:40:00folded in 50s and 20s, in bulging envelopes.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Every briefcase, every one we opened was full of cash,
0:40:04 > 0:40:05secreted all over the house.
0:40:05 > 0:40:08Not only did they find a ton of cash,
0:40:08 > 0:40:11the team also think they've hit the jackpot.
0:40:11 > 0:40:19We found a large amount of records in relation to loans which have been made to people across a wide area.
0:40:19 > 0:40:24We have an enormous amount of paperwork and evidence
0:40:24 > 0:40:27to go through here and hopefully over the next few days
0:40:27 > 0:40:30we'll be able to sort it and come to some sort of final conclusion
0:40:30 > 0:40:33and we can go back and question these individuals.
0:40:40 > 0:40:46Carol Highton succeeded in getting the loan shark who caused her son to commit suicide jailed.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48However, that's not the end of her fight. She's since set up
0:40:48 > 0:40:51the Brian Shields Trust, a charitable hotline
0:40:51 > 0:40:56that helps people in debt to illegal money lenders.
0:40:56 > 0:41:00But today, she's come with the Birmingham Illegal Money Lending Team
0:41:00 > 0:41:04to see if they'll be able to seize assets from Paul Nicholson,
0:41:04 > 0:41:07such as his houses, cash and cars.
0:41:07 > 0:41:08The result is good.
0:41:08 > 0:41:14The judge says the team can take close to £1 million of his ill-gotten gains.
0:41:14 > 0:41:17I couldn't ask for a better result, really, to be honest.
0:41:17 > 0:41:23To know that everything's been taken off this man and his associates
0:41:23 > 0:41:27means a lot personally for me for what happened to my son.
0:41:27 > 0:41:31Nothing will ever be able to compensate me for my loss.
0:41:31 > 0:41:34I just think that's justice, really.
0:41:40 > 0:41:41With me now is Carol.
0:41:41 > 0:41:45Carol, what about the people now who have already made that move
0:41:45 > 0:41:48and got a loan out with a loan shark? What should they do?
0:41:48 > 0:41:50Don't be worried about coming forward.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52Back in the day when this happened to Brian,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56there was nothing really there for him to go to.
0:41:56 > 0:41:57- Now there is.- Like who?
0:41:57 > 0:42:02Like the Illegal Money Lending Team. Whatever you tell them is in confidence.
0:42:02 > 0:42:06What about people who have debt, credit of any sort, and they need some general advice?
0:42:06 > 0:42:09There are services out there. There's the Credit Unions,
0:42:09 > 0:42:13there's the CAB, there's the Consumer Credit Counselling Service.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15There's lots of agencies and the Brian Shields Trust.
0:42:15 > 0:42:19There's help out there if you need it. It's just knowing where to look.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22Yes, there is help out there now and you don't need to hide
0:42:22 > 0:42:25behind your door or sit and worry about things any more.
0:42:25 > 0:42:27Just pick up the phone or you can go online.
0:42:27 > 0:42:30Just sum everything up for me that we've discussed.
0:42:30 > 0:42:32In one paragraph, what would it be?
0:42:32 > 0:42:36Don't be afraid anymore of these bullies
0:42:36 > 0:42:38or don't worry about debt itself.
0:42:38 > 0:42:42It's only money, at the end of the day. Life's more important.
0:42:42 > 0:42:46Just, if you need help, come forward and ask for it and you will get it.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54That's all from Fake Britain today.
0:42:54 > 0:42:55Bye for now.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd
0:43:20 > 0:43:24E-mail subtitling@bbc.co.uk