0:00:00 > 0:00:05Millions of us are targeted in scams every year, and whether it comes
0:00:05 > 0:00:09in the form of an e-mail, a cold call or a knock at the door,
0:00:09 > 0:00:12they're all designed to do one thing and one thing only -
0:00:12 > 0:00:14to get you to part with your cash.
0:00:31 > 0:00:34Coming up, the Olympic-themed investment
0:00:34 > 0:00:37where the only winners were the conmen.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42To realise that someone can do that to you and can destroy your life...
0:00:42 > 0:00:45Plus, we look at a heartless schemer who exploited
0:00:45 > 0:00:47a position of trust.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49There was no limit to what she was willing to do or say
0:00:49 > 0:00:52in terms of being able to pull off this fraud.
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Well, I'm here to tell you what the conman doesn't want you to know.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58How to stay one step ahead of the game and not get scammed.
0:01:04 > 0:01:07Now, if you're lucky enough to come into a bit of unexpected cash,
0:01:07 > 0:01:09you've basically got two choices.
0:01:09 > 0:01:12You can either go out and spend, spend, spend,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16or if you're being prudent, you could invest it.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18Conventional wisdom has it
0:01:18 > 0:01:22that there are few investments as good as land.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Not all land investments are what they seem.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31And that's certainly true in an investment known as land banking.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Although it can exist as a legitimate business,
0:01:34 > 0:01:35in recent years,
0:01:35 > 0:01:38organisations like the Financial Services Authority
0:01:38 > 0:01:42have witnessed a huge rise in land banking scams.
0:01:42 > 0:01:48Land banking essentially involves a firm buying a large plot of land
0:01:48 > 0:01:51and splitting it into dozens, probably, of smaller plots,
0:01:51 > 0:01:55and then selling those plots with the promise that one day,
0:01:55 > 0:01:56it will get planning permission.
0:01:56 > 0:01:59So, in other words, you buy land while it's cheap and then,
0:01:59 > 0:02:03when planning permission is granted and it rockets in value,
0:02:03 > 0:02:07you reap the rewards. If only it was as simple as that.
0:02:10 > 0:02:14Land banking scams have taken millions off people
0:02:14 > 0:02:15in the last few years,
0:02:15 > 0:02:17and I'm about to meet one of them.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24Alison Higginson is a care worker and single mother of two,
0:02:24 > 0:02:26and like most people,
0:02:26 > 0:02:29she's had to work hard to stay on top of her family finances.
0:02:29 > 0:02:32But last year, Alison thought any money worries were behind her
0:02:32 > 0:02:37when she won a five-figure sum playing bingo.
0:02:37 > 0:02:40- Hello, I'm Matt.- Oh, hi, Matt. Come in.- Thank you.
0:02:43 > 0:02:47- So you got a cheque through the post, is that how it works?- Yeah.
0:02:47 > 0:02:50What was that like?
0:02:50 > 0:02:53It was the most amazing feeling, it really was.
0:02:53 > 0:02:55I'd never won any kind of money,
0:02:55 > 0:03:01so when I won that, the feeling it gave me was absolutely amazing.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04But Alison kept her feet on the ground.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07After all, here was an opportunity to have a bit of financial security.
0:03:07 > 0:03:13I needed to make this money work for me, so I thought about investing it.
0:03:13 > 0:03:16Now, as luck would have it, Alison had only recently
0:03:16 > 0:03:20been contacted by a land banking firm called Regional Land,
0:03:20 > 0:03:24the trading name of Countrywide Land Holdings Ltd.
0:03:24 > 0:03:27With no money to invest, Alison had said, thanks, but no thanks,
0:03:27 > 0:03:29and thought no more about it.
0:03:29 > 0:03:32But with a sizeable bingo prize sat in her account,
0:03:32 > 0:03:35things were suddenly different, so when Regional Land called her back,
0:03:35 > 0:03:38this time she listened to what they had to say.
0:03:38 > 0:03:41They were offering the chance for a development site
0:03:41 > 0:03:43that was close to the Olympics.
0:03:43 > 0:03:49They were saying this land is prime, it's perfect land to develop.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52The man on the line had grabbed Alison's attention,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55but what she didn't know was that he was a conman
0:03:55 > 0:03:59who was simply using the Olympics as a way of hooking her in.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03The reason why they'll use a hook like the Olympics,
0:04:03 > 0:04:04or any other type of hook,
0:04:04 > 0:04:09is because it translates the theory of how you might make money
0:04:09 > 0:04:11into something that sounds real life,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14and it sounds realistic that they may well be
0:04:14 > 0:04:16a regeneration of housing in that area.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19It just makes it sound real, and once it sounds real,
0:04:19 > 0:04:20you're more likely to get the victim.
0:04:20 > 0:04:24The Olympics was the best part about it, because it was like,
0:04:24 > 0:04:28we know thousands of people are going to want to stream into London.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Everything he said was completely feasible.
0:04:36 > 0:04:41The language these people use is very positive and very optimistic.
0:04:41 > 0:04:43They will give you a nigh-on certain feeling
0:04:43 > 0:04:47that you are definitely going to see this land get planning permission
0:04:47 > 0:04:49and then make massive amounts of money.
0:04:49 > 0:04:51There was nothing about it that led me to believe
0:04:51 > 0:04:53that there was anything wrong with the idea.
0:04:53 > 0:04:57Alison felt this was the perfect opportunity
0:04:57 > 0:04:59to use her win from bingo wisely.
0:04:59 > 0:05:01I thought it would give me a better income
0:05:01 > 0:05:03in a maximum of five years' time.
0:05:03 > 0:05:06I would've had a nice, tidy sum of money.
0:05:06 > 0:05:11One of the things you're told is the possible returns are massive.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15They are promising you that when it gets planning permission,
0:05:15 > 0:05:18an area of land you bought for £10,000
0:05:18 > 0:05:22will be worth £200,000 with planning permission.
0:05:22 > 0:05:26Tell me about the kind of returns they were offering on your money.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29What were you going to get back for investing?
0:05:29 > 0:05:33To start off with, I'd get about three times my investment,
0:05:33 > 0:05:35once they'd got planning permission,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39and then if I wanted, I could then sell at that point.
0:05:39 > 0:05:43But it wasn't just promises of high returns that lured Alison in.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46She was also building up what she thought was a close relationship
0:05:46 > 0:05:48with the voice on the phone.
0:05:48 > 0:05:52You have somebody who befriends you, offers to give you advice,
0:05:52 > 0:05:55seems very benevolent and wants to look after you,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57look after your financial situation.
0:05:57 > 0:05:59I'm getting to know him.
0:05:59 > 0:06:02We were talking about absolutely everything, what he's been up to,
0:06:02 > 0:06:06what I've been up to, so it's all things that alleviate my fear.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09He feels real on the end of the phone, and not just a voice.
0:06:09 > 0:06:12Although Alison was interested in what they had to offer,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14she wanted to think about it.
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Regional Land, though, bombarded her with glossy brochures,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21official-looking documents, and, of course, they kept on phoning,
0:06:21 > 0:06:24hoping they could pressurise her into a decision.
0:06:24 > 0:06:30That's why you're getting the phone calls, over and over again,
0:06:30 > 0:06:33to force you to make that decision, even though,
0:06:33 > 0:06:39if you stopped a minute to think, you'd realise what was going on.
0:06:39 > 0:06:41But you're not allowed that time.
0:06:41 > 0:06:44I can see that, yeah, I can understand that.
0:06:44 > 0:06:48Then using a classic scam-artist trick to up the urgency,
0:06:48 > 0:06:52they told her she was too late and had missed the boat.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56There was no plots left on the Olympic land.
0:06:56 > 0:06:58They were offering me a deal in Kent.
0:06:58 > 0:07:00Alison was told the plots in Kent
0:07:00 > 0:07:02were big enough for a three-bedroomed house,
0:07:02 > 0:07:05and this time, she wasn't going to miss out.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09She agreed to buy a plot for £12,000.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11But the company wasn't done with her yet.
0:07:11 > 0:07:14They began to ramp up the pressure even more.
0:07:15 > 0:07:22I was getting phone calls morning, afternoon, evening, constant.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24It got to the point where, at one point,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26I was refusing to actually answer my phone,
0:07:26 > 0:07:29and that would be to anyone, just in case it was them.
0:07:29 > 0:07:32The company sensed Alison had more to invest
0:07:32 > 0:07:35and they were going to try every tactic possible
0:07:35 > 0:07:37to get more of her cash.
0:07:37 > 0:07:41The second route they'll use is to try and encourage them
0:07:41 > 0:07:44to make more money, more quickly,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48still with the promise that they'll get massive returns.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52You decide to invest more? How did that happen?
0:07:52 > 0:07:55The second investment was based on the fact
0:07:55 > 0:07:58that they had a piece of land that was so close to being developed,
0:07:58 > 0:08:00we're talking in terms of months, not years,
0:08:00 > 0:08:05so I could get my return back within six to nine months.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06Not only did they offer me
0:08:06 > 0:08:09this bit of land that was ready to be developed,
0:08:09 > 0:08:12but they also offered me it at a reduced price
0:08:12 > 0:08:15than what they were asking from other investors.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18This so-called exclusive offer and the constant bombardment of calls
0:08:18 > 0:08:21eventually paid off for the conmen.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24Alison was persuaded to hand over another £15,000
0:08:24 > 0:08:26for the second piece of land.
0:08:26 > 0:08:29As soon as I made the second payment, I knew.
0:08:29 > 0:08:34Suddenly, it did dawn on me that something wasn't right.
0:08:34 > 0:08:36How did you know?
0:08:36 > 0:08:40I constantly tried to contact them, I couldn't get through to them,
0:08:40 > 0:08:41or if I got through to them,
0:08:41 > 0:08:46I couldn't speak to the person that was actually dealing with me.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50He would be not around, he wasn't in the office or things like that.
0:08:50 > 0:08:54I'd ask for phone calls, nobody would return my calls.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56Eventually, Alison did hear back from the company,
0:08:56 > 0:08:59but all she got was a sob story.
0:08:59 > 0:09:03Someone contacts me back and basically tells me that
0:09:03 > 0:09:05they're very sorry,
0:09:05 > 0:09:08but this guy has just lost his wife to a brain haemorrhage
0:09:08 > 0:09:11and he has to bring up his four-year-old daughter,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13can I please not contact them.
0:09:13 > 0:09:18In Alison's case there, they were using the usual diversion tactics.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Once they're rumbled, if you like, they can string people along
0:09:21 > 0:09:25with stories like the broker's wife has died or whatever,
0:09:25 > 0:09:27then it's less likely that these schemes
0:09:27 > 0:09:30will get reported to the authorities,
0:09:30 > 0:09:33and it keeps the scheme alive for them to sell to other victims.
0:09:33 > 0:09:38Now seriously concerned, Alison decided to contact a solicitor
0:09:38 > 0:09:41to find out exactly what she'd bought.
0:09:41 > 0:09:43He told her the land she'd purchased did exist,
0:09:43 > 0:09:47but it was a far cry from what she'd imagined.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49What he did turn round and say to me
0:09:49 > 0:09:52was that the size of land I actually had bought
0:09:52 > 0:09:54was probably big enough for a shed.
0:09:54 > 0:09:57There was no way you could build a three-bedroomed house on it.
0:09:57 > 0:09:58It was also highly unlikely
0:09:58 > 0:10:01the land would ever be granted planning permission,
0:10:01 > 0:10:06meaning the plots Alison had paid a total of £27,000 for
0:10:06 > 0:10:09were actually worth just a few hundred quid.
0:10:09 > 0:10:14And Regional Land had disappeared without a trace.
0:10:14 > 0:10:18Worse still, conmen continue to hound Alison with similar schemes,
0:10:18 > 0:10:21selling everything from carbon credit to wine.
0:10:21 > 0:10:24She believes her name is now on a suckers list
0:10:24 > 0:10:26where her details are stored by scammers.
0:10:26 > 0:10:29It also feels like it's the same people as well,
0:10:29 > 0:10:32because with the land banking,
0:10:32 > 0:10:36the people that contacted me had a distinct accent.
0:10:36 > 0:10:39When I was contacted with regards to the carbon credits
0:10:39 > 0:10:44and another one that was recently, it sounded like the same guy.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48We do see the same people running lots of different types of scams.
0:10:48 > 0:10:53They're based on the same thing, which is buy something, an asset,
0:10:53 > 0:10:57which will rapidly go up in value, and it's often an illusion,
0:10:57 > 0:11:01and it usually ends up with the victim losing all their money.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03What effect did this have on you?
0:11:03 > 0:11:08Initially, I was angry that I'd been so gullible, was how I felt.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12After, I became really upset,
0:11:12 > 0:11:17and when I realised that I'd been taken in, I felt really bad
0:11:17 > 0:11:20because there's so many things I could have done with that money.
0:11:20 > 0:11:22There is a little bit of good news for Alison
0:11:22 > 0:11:26and others caught up in land banking scams.
0:11:26 > 0:11:28In March 2012, the High Court ruled
0:11:28 > 0:11:31that the man behind Regional Land and Countrywide Land Holdings Ltd,
0:11:31 > 0:11:35James Kenneth Maynard, had been selling land unlawfully.
0:11:35 > 0:11:40He was ordered to pay a whopping £32 million to the FSA.
0:11:40 > 0:11:42Sadly, he's now on the run,
0:11:42 > 0:11:44and people like Alison must come to terms with the fact
0:11:44 > 0:11:46that their money is gone.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52Since all of this, I haven't worked,
0:11:52 > 0:11:57I haven't really stepped foot outside my house.
0:11:57 > 0:11:58Why?
0:11:58 > 0:12:03Because I realised that so much bad happens out in the world,
0:12:03 > 0:12:06I just figured I was safer if I stayed in my own home.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10- That's tragic, really.- It's sad.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13You're someone that's given a lot in your job,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15and to your family as well.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18You know, you can't earn your living,
0:12:18 > 0:12:24you can't have a social life and friends, as a result of this.
0:12:24 > 0:12:30No, I haven't, for the past few years. I haven't had any life.
0:12:30 > 0:12:32None whatsoever.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35But they've taken a lot more away from you than just money, then.
0:12:35 > 0:12:39That isn't the biggest part of these kind of scams.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43The biggest part is what it does to you as a person,
0:12:43 > 0:12:48to realise that someone can do that to you, and can destroy your life.
0:12:48 > 0:12:52It has destroyed my life, effectively.
0:12:56 > 0:13:02I'm really conscious of how much courage it takes
0:13:02 > 0:13:09to come and tell this story, and how you must feel embarrassed, ashamed,
0:13:09 > 0:13:12of all of these things,
0:13:12 > 0:13:16but you mustn't do, because it's not just you.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19There are hundreds of people who've been in the same situation,
0:13:19 > 0:13:23and very few of them have the guts to talk about it.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30If you're contacted with a view to investing in land,
0:13:30 > 0:13:32here's what you need to watch out for.
0:13:32 > 0:13:36The first thing that happens is that you get a cold call out of the blue.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39It's rarely a good idea to do business with cold callers,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42but if what they're offering sounds interesting,
0:13:42 > 0:13:44go away and do your own research
0:13:44 > 0:13:48to ensure everything is above board and legitimate.
0:13:48 > 0:13:50Second hallmark is that they befriend you,
0:13:50 > 0:13:54they start talking to you about your investment, your financial health,
0:13:54 > 0:13:56they'll seem like they actually care about you.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59Don't be taken in by this. They're not interested in you.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01They're just after your money.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04The third hallmark is that they start to then
0:14:04 > 0:14:07move into talking about land-based investments,
0:14:07 > 0:14:11and how you could make a lot of money out of them.
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Get a solicitor involved and check with the local council
0:14:14 > 0:14:16about the likelihood of planning permission,
0:14:16 > 0:14:17because there's a good chance
0:14:17 > 0:14:21the only ones set to make any money out of this are the conmen.
0:14:28 > 0:14:33Putting your affairs in order gets more important as you get older.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35You want to make sure that what you've got
0:14:35 > 0:14:37goes to the people you love after you've gone,
0:14:37 > 0:14:44but that process can also present a golden opportunity for scam artists.
0:14:45 > 0:14:49And in 2009, Derbyshire Police uncovered details of a scam
0:14:49 > 0:14:54that had ruthlessly targeted elderly residents of a care home.
0:14:54 > 0:14:58It's one of the worst cases of dishonesty I've ever come across.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01The case revolved around a care home manager,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03who, it seemed, had exploited her position
0:15:03 > 0:15:05to try and get at the residents' cash.
0:15:05 > 0:15:10There was no limit, really, to what she was willing to do or say,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13in terms of being able to pull off this fraud.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17The police were called in by Terry Mansfield
0:15:17 > 0:15:20after his elderly cousin Geoff passed away.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22Terry's suspicions were aroused
0:15:22 > 0:15:25when it emerged that Jeff had left a large part of his estate
0:15:25 > 0:15:27to someone he didn't actually like.
0:15:28 > 0:15:34I was amazed that he would have left 40% of his estate
0:15:34 > 0:15:38to somebody whom he clearly disliked.
0:15:38 > 0:15:41That someone turn out to be Beverly Jeffs,
0:15:41 > 0:15:44the manager of the care home where he'd lived
0:15:44 > 0:15:46for the last three years of his life.
0:15:46 > 0:15:52Geoff didn't like her. He used to speak of her as the tyrant.
0:15:53 > 0:15:58Beverly Jeffs had only come into Geoff's life in the last few years.
0:15:59 > 0:16:03During his lifetime, Geoff was an extremely bright man
0:16:03 > 0:16:05and had enjoyed an illustrious career.
0:16:05 > 0:16:09He spent the whole of his career in Rolls-Royce,
0:16:09 > 0:16:12and retired at a normal age
0:16:12 > 0:16:16when he was known as principal performance engineer.
0:16:16 > 0:16:18Having worked so hard all his life,
0:16:18 > 0:16:23Jeff left a sizeable estate worth almost £750,000.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27When Terry was presented with a copy of the will from Beverly Jeffs,
0:16:27 > 0:16:29things didn't add up.
0:16:30 > 0:16:31It was a handwritten will
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and I was concerned about whether it was valid or not
0:16:34 > 0:16:37because there were some peculiarities about it.
0:16:37 > 0:16:41I was surprised about the grammatical errors in the will,
0:16:41 > 0:16:46and misplaced apostrophes, misspellings and so on.
0:16:46 > 0:16:50Now, for a precision engineer, that just didn't seem right.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54Terry smelt a rat,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58and with Beverly Jeffs set to inherit nearly £3,000,
0:16:58 > 0:17:00he decided to contact a solicitor.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02The solicitor went to the police
0:17:02 > 0:17:08when we had suspicions about six or seven weeks after my cousin's death.
0:17:08 > 0:17:11The case landed on the desk of Detective Constable Hardip Shergill
0:17:11 > 0:17:14of the Derbyshire force.
0:17:15 > 0:17:18The first knowledge really came from relatives
0:17:18 > 0:17:21of the deceased victim.
0:17:21 > 0:17:23Firstly, the family weren't happy
0:17:23 > 0:17:25that the will was authentic or genuine.
0:17:25 > 0:17:27Secondly, there were some transactions
0:17:27 > 0:17:29on the victim's bank account,
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and these were quite significant transactions,
0:17:33 > 0:17:35and they were completely out of character.
0:17:35 > 0:17:39Now, Geoff Mansfield was not renowned for his extravagant ways,
0:17:39 > 0:17:42so a cheque written for £22,000 from his own cheque-book
0:17:42 > 0:17:44raised alarm bells.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48What unfolded next was more shocking than Terry ever could have imagined.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50The solicitor rang to tell me
0:17:50 > 0:17:54about the withdrawals from his account by these cheques,
0:17:54 > 0:18:01and she told me that one of them, for £22,000, had been to Mercedes-Benz.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04Why would an elderly man living in a care home
0:18:04 > 0:18:06write a cheque for so much money?
0:18:06 > 0:18:10I said, "Oh, that's very interesting in view of the fact
0:18:10 > 0:18:14"that Mrs Jeffs drives around in a Mercedes."
0:18:14 > 0:18:15She said, "That's not the only thing,
0:18:15 > 0:18:18"you should see what's written on the back."
0:18:18 > 0:18:21It has a car number plate recorded,
0:18:21 > 0:18:25and it is the personalised number plate of Beverly Jeffs.
0:18:25 > 0:18:29Geoff had mentioned the car to his cousin.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32He couldn't understand how she got the money
0:18:32 > 0:18:35to drive around in a posh car like that.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39The Mercedes Benz was in fact a car that she'd purchased,
0:18:39 > 0:18:43and she used a cheque from his account to pay that off.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47Signed it, as though Geoff had signed it.
0:18:47 > 0:18:51Beverly Jeffs had been swanning around in a luxury car
0:18:51 > 0:18:52paid for by Geoff Mansfield.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54The sheer gall!
0:18:54 > 0:18:57And an act of astonishing brazenness was to follow.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01She did come to his funeral in that car.
0:19:04 > 0:19:07Although her guilt seemed glaringly obvious,
0:19:07 > 0:19:10police needed hard evidence to back up their suspicions.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14Handwriting analysis on the signatures on the cheques
0:19:14 > 0:19:17was carried out to clarify if they were genuine.
0:19:17 > 0:19:21We got samples of Geoff Mansfield's signature
0:19:21 > 0:19:24going back from the 1970s to late 1990s,
0:19:24 > 0:19:26compared those signatures
0:19:26 > 0:19:29with those that were on these fraudulent cheques,
0:19:29 > 0:19:31and the expert was able to say
0:19:31 > 0:19:36that Geoff had not written those signatures on those cheques.
0:19:36 > 0:19:39Having already found evidence of Beverley Jeffs' scamming,
0:19:39 > 0:19:42the police moved their investigation to the next level.
0:19:42 > 0:19:45We put a team together, ensured that she was arrested
0:19:45 > 0:19:48and then carried out searches in the car,
0:19:48 > 0:19:51her home address, and also the office at the care home.
0:19:51 > 0:19:54What they discovered during the raid
0:19:54 > 0:19:56were documents and evidence suggesting a lifestyle
0:19:56 > 0:20:00well and truly beyond her means.
0:20:00 > 0:20:04She had holidays in Hawaii, trips to China, Dubai,
0:20:04 > 0:20:06and all across the Mediterranean.
0:20:06 > 0:20:10She had a fairly new detached house,
0:20:10 > 0:20:13there was obviously the Mercedes-Benz,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16there was artwork inside the house, there was jewellery.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19In the back garden, I remember there was a hot tub.
0:20:19 > 0:20:22Police also discovered fake qualifications,
0:20:22 > 0:20:26including one in social care, quotations for plastic surgery,
0:20:26 > 0:20:29and brochures for the purchase of other residential care homes.
0:20:29 > 0:20:34It was clear that she had her sights set on moving up in terms of status
0:20:34 > 0:20:37and also in terms of her career, if you like.
0:20:37 > 0:20:40Beverly Jeffs was brought in for questioning.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42The interviews were carried out on tape,
0:20:42 > 0:20:44so they were tape-recorded,
0:20:44 > 0:20:48and there was a solicitor present as well during the interviews.
0:20:48 > 0:20:52It was carried out in a room not dissimilar to this, really.
0:20:52 > 0:20:54Far from being co-operative or admitting what she'd done,
0:20:54 > 0:20:58the care home manager stood defiant and answered, "No comment",
0:20:58 > 0:21:01to the vast majority of DC Shergill's questions.
0:21:01 > 0:21:02And that surprised me,
0:21:02 > 0:21:06because I thought somebody in her position might turn round
0:21:06 > 0:21:10and sort of hold her hands up and explain, the game's up here,
0:21:10 > 0:21:14the police have put this evidence in front of me, I can't really deny it.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16But she did just that.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Despite all the evidence, there were yet more shocking claims to come.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24It was now that Beverly Jeffs played her final trump card.
0:21:24 > 0:21:28At no stage did we think for a second she'd turn round
0:21:28 > 0:21:31and say she was the biological daughter of Geoff Mansfield.
0:21:31 > 0:21:33That came from completely left-field,
0:21:33 > 0:21:35and it did throw me, actually.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39She claimed that she was my cousin's illegitimate daughter.
0:21:39 > 0:21:42I never thought there was a remote possibility of it.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44I was just incredulous.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48But astonishingly, Beverly Jeffs claimed to have evidence
0:21:48 > 0:21:50to back up these outlandish claims,
0:21:50 > 0:21:53evidence which included a family photograph.
0:21:53 > 0:21:56She suggested that the male in the photograph
0:21:56 > 0:22:00that was holding the small baby, which was her, was Geoff Mansfield.
0:22:00 > 0:22:02Terry was horrified,
0:22:02 > 0:22:07mainly because the male in the actual photograph was his father,
0:22:07 > 0:22:09and not Geoff Mansfield, so he knew straightaway
0:22:09 > 0:22:12that there had to be some kind of discrepancy there.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18I learned that that photograph was what is called photoshopped.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22She had taken the head of my father off it,
0:22:22 > 0:22:26and put it on to the photograph of her own father,
0:22:26 > 0:22:28holding her as a baby.
0:22:28 > 0:22:30In other words, she'd replaced the two heads.
0:22:33 > 0:22:34Beverly Jeffs was going all-out
0:22:34 > 0:22:36to prove she was the rightful beneficiary
0:22:36 > 0:22:40of her stake in the £723,000 will.
0:22:41 > 0:22:44The lengths she was willing to go to were astounding,
0:22:44 > 0:22:48including fraudulent DNA tests.
0:22:48 > 0:22:52DNA analysis which Beverly Jeffs claimed
0:22:52 > 0:22:58had been done on samples taken from my cousin's shaver
0:22:58 > 0:23:02and nasal hair trimmer.
0:23:02 > 0:23:04The DNA test didn't have any names on it
0:23:04 > 0:23:07to link Geoff Mansfield as the father,
0:23:07 > 0:23:09and its origins were questionable.
0:23:09 > 0:23:14She also produced medical records, supposedly from her own childhood.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17The records that were held at a local hospital were forged
0:23:17 > 0:23:22as though to show that her next of kin or father was Geoff Mansfield.
0:23:24 > 0:23:28It turned out Beverly Jeffs was a serial scammer
0:23:28 > 0:23:31who'd been stealing from other vulnerable people in her care,
0:23:31 > 0:23:36including an elderly female resident at the same residential home.
0:23:36 > 0:23:40It became clear that in the two-year period that she was a resident,
0:23:40 > 0:23:43in excess of £40,000 had been taken from her account,
0:23:43 > 0:23:46and this was predominantly from ATMs.
0:23:46 > 0:23:51The withdrawals went on pretty much on a day-to-day basis.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54The victim wasn't well enough to leave the home
0:23:54 > 0:23:56as frequently as that.
0:23:56 > 0:23:58With so much evidence against her,
0:23:58 > 0:24:02it was time for Beverly Jeffs to stand in front of a jury,
0:24:02 > 0:24:05but she was defiant until the very end.
0:24:05 > 0:24:09I thought once the stealing from the bank account had been revealed,
0:24:09 > 0:24:14I thought she would have found it to her own benefit to plead guilty,
0:24:14 > 0:24:20but she was denying that she was a liar, that every claim was true.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23Unfortunately, scams like this
0:24:23 > 0:24:27which carefully target the savings of elderly, vulnerable people
0:24:27 > 0:24:28are not uncommon.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31They can come in many forms, from rogue will-writing firms
0:24:31 > 0:24:35to cold call builders, but the objective is always the same -
0:24:35 > 0:24:38to ruthlessly fleece people of their cash.
0:24:38 > 0:24:39After a two-week trial,
0:24:39 > 0:24:43Beverly Jeffs was found guilty of ten counts of fraud and theft,
0:24:43 > 0:24:46and sentenced to five years in prison.
0:24:46 > 0:24:50She was also ordered to pay back almost £80,000.
0:24:50 > 0:24:52It was a unanimous verdict.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55It took just over an hour for the jury to come to that verdict,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58so I was thoroughly satisfied with that.
0:24:58 > 0:25:00I was happy that she'd been found guilty,
0:25:00 > 0:25:03and relieved that it's all over.
0:25:03 > 0:25:05I'm very grateful to the police officer.
0:25:05 > 0:25:08I think ultimately, somebody that shows this kind of greed
0:25:08 > 0:25:11and this level of dishonesty,
0:25:11 > 0:25:14you can't fail to be motivated investigating them
0:25:14 > 0:25:16and bringing the truth to light.
0:25:22 > 0:25:23Before we go,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27there's just time to tell you about some of the latest scams out there.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31I've come to meet an expert from the Serious Organised Crime Agency
0:25:31 > 0:25:34to get the low-down on what you should be looking out for.
0:25:36 > 0:25:41Today, we're looking at a classic con known as the black money scam.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47The black money scam, it's been around for decades
0:25:47 > 0:25:50but there will be people who've never heard of it. How does it work?
0:25:50 > 0:25:53The criminal will say, we've got some money,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57but it's had to be smuggled from here and it's in a disguised form,
0:25:57 > 0:26:01but come along, pay us a little bit of money for the chemicals
0:26:01 > 0:26:05and the secret of how to reduce it back to money, and it's all yours.
0:26:05 > 0:26:12They'll open up a big box, and inside is piles of what looks like money.
0:26:12 > 0:26:15The trouble is, it's all covered in a black powder or gel,
0:26:15 > 0:26:18or something like that, and they'll take one off the top
0:26:18 > 0:26:20and say, let's look at this one,
0:26:20 > 0:26:24they'll use a special chemical which only they can sell you.
0:26:24 > 0:26:25And then, in the sink,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29they'll clean it off and it'll come off quite easily,
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and then you've got a genuine note in dollar currency.
0:26:32 > 0:26:35And you naturally think the rest of it is all dollars,
0:26:35 > 0:26:38it's just all the hard work is now cleaning it up.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40Course, the rest of it is just plain paper.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Whatever the colour of the money, don't be fooled.
0:26:43 > 0:26:47It's an elaborate scam designed to separate you from your cash.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50Fraudsters will for ever be coming up with new ways
0:26:50 > 0:26:52to get you to part with your cash,
0:26:52 > 0:26:54but armed with a little bit of knowledge,
0:26:54 > 0:26:57you can be one step ahead of them.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59Stay safe. I'll see you next time.
0:27:15 > 0:27:17Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd