Fraudsters jailed for selling fake passports to fugitive criminals

Fraudsters who supplied fake passports to immoderate of the UK's astir wanted criminals person been jailed.

Anthony Beard, aged 61, obtained existent passports successful different people's names past added the photographs of criminals, including 2 fugitive murderers.

He was jailed for six years and 8 months. One of his accomplices, Chris McCormack was jailed for 8 years.

Sentencing them, Judge Nicholas Ainley said: "This transgression was to alteration wicked, convulsive criminals to evade justice."

The National Crime Agency (NCA) said Beard's customers made "an atrocious batch of wealth retired of organised criminality".

A 3rd subordinate of the gang, Alan Thompson, was sentenced to 3 years.

Anthony Beard, a insignificant fraudster from Sydenham, successful South London, archetypal devised a mode of obtaining genuine passports for criminals to use, 2 decades ago.

He would find susceptible radical successful rehab centres and veterans' shelters, galore of whom had cause oregon intoxicant problems, and transportation them to lend him their individuality successful speech for precise small money.

He would past use to renew the susceptible person's expired passport, but the photograph helium submitted would beryllium a caller representation of a wanted transgression successful request of a caller identity.

By utilizing the passport renewal process, helium avoided the request for an in-person interrogation - required for caller passport applicants - thing that would beryllium intolerable for a transgression hiding retired successful different country.

Beard countersigned the passport photos himself. Later, helium progressive different radical - whose occupations included "licensees" and "psychiatrists" - to supposedly corroborate that the passport photos were existent likenesses.

The NCA said Beard mightiness person supplied arsenic galore arsenic 108 fraudulently-obtained genuine passports (FOGs) implicit a 20-year period, charging arsenic overmuch arsenic £15,000 - £20,000 for each one. The idiosyncratic whose passport was being utilized was paid arsenic small arsenic £100.

After helium had been moving the scam for immoderate years, Beard met Chris McCormack, besides known arsenic Christopher Zietek, a long-time gangster who divided his clip betwixt South London, Ireland and Spain.

In the 1990s, McCormack had been linked to a notorious North London gang, known arsenic the Adams Family, the A-team, oregon the Clerkenwell Crime Syndicate. He erstwhile stood proceedings for torturing a antheral who owed the Adams household money, successful a horrific onslaught reminiscent of the movie Reservoir Dogs. By the extremity of the assault, lone tegument held the man's chemoreceptor and near receptor to his face.

Despite having the victim's humor connected his jacket, McCormack was acquitted of attempted execution by a jury.

Because of his transgression credentials, McCormack was trusted by gangsters who were connected the tally and became a benignant of broker. He acted arsenic the liaison betwixt Beard, successful South London, and superior criminals successful Spain and Dubai who needed passports to question undetected.

It was done McCormack that Beard ended up supplying passports to immoderate of the UK's astir wanted criminals.

Beard and McCormack obtained passports for astatine slightest 5 suspected members of the Glasgow-based Gillespie gang, thought to beryllium 1 of the wealthiest organised transgression groups successful Scotland.

The NCA thinks Beard and McCormack besides provided passports to Barry Gillespie, Jamie Stevenson and James White, each suspected cause traffickers believed to beryllium members of the gang.

Another starring transgression to whom Beard supplied a passport was Irish cartel brag Christy Kinahan Snr. The US authorities has offered a $5m reward for accusation starring to Kinahan's arrest.

Officers deliberation Beard besides obtained passports for Liverpool cause trafficker Michael Moogan, firearms trafficker Richard Burdett, and Jamie Acourt, 1 of the archetypal suspects successful the Stephen Lawrence murder. Acourt ne'er really received the passport obtained for him. He was arrested successful Spain successful 2018 and subsequently convicted of drug-dealing.

Craig Turner, NCA lawman director, said helium supplied radical "at the apical extremity of superior organised crime", adding: "They'd made an atrocious batch of wealth retired of organised criminality, some successful the UK and internationally."

The NCA's probe - known arsenic Operation Strey - began successful 2017 and would go of the agency's astir important inquiries, involving extended surveillance.

Undercover officers filmed Beard gathering susceptible radical who were supplying him with passports for renewal, and with pack members and co-conspirators. They recorded McCormack successful his location discussing passport applications with Beard and with his customers.

The NCA says it worked intimately with His Majesty's Passport Office (HMPO), Police Scotland and Dutch police. Officers obtained recordings of Beard's telephone calls to HMPO, successful which helium tin beryllium heard enquiring astir passport applications nether antithetic names. They besides recovered insubstantial passport applications with his fingerprints connected them.

Beard pleaded blameworthy to conspiracy to pervert the people of justness and conspiracy to proviso fraudulent documents connected 3 January 2023 anterior to the proceedings astatine Reading Crown Court. McCormack, and his co-conspirator Alan Thompson were convicted by a jury.