Latest news with #crimegang
BBC News
09-07-2025
- BBC News
List of unclaimed estates taken offline after BBC investigation
An official list of people who died without leaving a will has been taken offline, after a BBC investigation found evidence a crime gang was using it to commit fraud worth millions of government list - known as Bona Vacantia - gives the details of unclaimed estates in England or Wales. The BBC heard allegations that criminals were using the information to create fake wills and inherit money and page's removal has been welcomed by lawyers, but they say more needs to be done to protect the system from a statement, the Ministry of Justice said it was 'working with the relevant agencies to support ongoing investigations into alleged fraudulent activity'. Details of about 6,000 unclaimed estates are listed on Bona Vacantia (Latin for "Vacant Goods") and, until 7 July, anyone could view them on the the relevant page has been updated and now merely says: "We have temporarily removed the unclaimed estates list from our website. Further details will follow as soon as possible."The Ministry of Justice has now told the BBC that the list has been removed 'in keeping with current investigations' and it could not confirm 'when the list will be available online again'.A BBC News article published on Saturday 5 July recounted several cases in the south of England where a dead person's details had appeared on Bona Vacantia, and then, shortly after, someone had stepped forward claiming to be their sole "heirs" produced wills where none had previously been thought to have existed. What's more, the claimants appear to be connected to each other through a network of company directorships, and all had names of Hungarian friends and neighbours of the deceased told us how they had tried to alert authorities about their suspicions, but say that no action was ever a result of our investigation, bank accounts for dozens of companies connected to the suspected fraudsters, have been suspended. Taking down Bona Vacantia is "absolutely right", according to Ann Stanyer, a leading specialist lawyer in the field, but she says this in itself will not be enough to combat (the legal process of administering a dead person's estate) has largely been carried out online since 2017, she says, but the current system demands too few checks on applicants, and "is clearly open to abuse". Why did our late aunt leave everything to a total stranger? Ms Stanyer's misgivings are shared with lawyer and former MP Sir Bob Neill: "If you are going to have an automated system there have to be checks in it, and at the moment, there aren't," he Bob began an inquiry into the probate system when he was chair of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee, although this was cut short by the 2019 general election. He says the taking down of Bona Vacantia is "a good start [to combat fraud], but there's a lot more they need to do". The removal of Bona Vacantia will also have an impact on legitimate heir-hunting companies, who use the list as a starting point to research and then contact the genuine heirs to unclaimed estates. "It's a bureaucratic kneejerk reaction, unnecessary," says Peter Turvey, who runs one such company, Anglia Research Services. He says that the problem lies more not with the details revealed in Bona Vacantia, but with government failure to act when presented with clear examples of fraud.
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Daily Mail
Woman, 21, becomes sixth person charged with murder of mother-of-four, 40, who was gunned down on her doorstep in 'case of mistaken identity'
A 21-year-old woman has been charged with the murder of a mother-of-four killed in a suspected mistaken identity murder as she answered the door. Former shop worker Joanne Penney, 40, was killed on a doorstep when she was shot in the chest by an alleged crime gang in Talbot Green, south Wales. Kristina Ginova, 21, has now been charged with murder after being arrested for allegedly assisting an offender. Four men and one woman have previously been accused of Ms Penney's murder after the doorstep killing in a quiet village. Ginova was due to appear at Cardiff Crown Court but refused to attend the hearing. An inquest was told Ms Penney was shot in the left side of her chest and suffered wounds to her heart and lung as she opened the door to a friend's flat. Coroner's officer Beverly Morgan said police were called to 'a reported shooting' where the victim was staying on March 9 at about 6.10pm this year. She said: 'On arrival of emergency services they found Joanne Penney lying on her back unresponsive in the living room area - she had sustained a gunshot wound to the chest. 'Despite efforts of emergency services in attendance she was later pronounced deceased.' Ms Morgan said Ms Penney, of no fixed abode, was identified by her family and a post mortem examination was carried out by Dr Richard Jones at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend. She said the pathologist gave a provisional cause of death as a 'gunshot wound to the left chest involving the heart and left lung'. South Wales central coroner Graeme Hughes said: 'I have sufficient reason to suspect Miss Penney's death was due to violence - those circumstances clearly satisfy me so.' He said he was 'cognisant individuals have been arrested and charged' and an inquest would continue after police investigations had been completed. Mr Hughes added: 'While those investigations are ongoing by South Wales Police and the Crown Prosecution Service, I want to pass on my own condolences to Miss Penney's family and friends.' The hearing at Pontypridd Coroner's Court was adjourned to a date to be fixed. Detectives have said they are investigating the 'possibility' that Ms Penney was 'the victim of mistaken identity.' Those accused of Ms Penney's murder are Tony Porter, 68, 27-year-old Joshua Gordon, Marcus Huntley, 20, Melissa Quailey-Dashper and Jordan Mills-Smith. Porter is also accused of participating in the criminal activities of an organised crime group. Porter, Gordon, Quailey-Dashper and Ginover are all from the Leicestershire area while Mills-Smith and Huntley are from Cardiff. Sai Raj Manne, 25, of no fixed abode, is charged with participating in the activities of an organised crime group. Molly Cooper, 33, from Leicester, has been charged with participating in the activities of an organised crime group and acquiring ammunition for a firearm without a certificate. Police previously asked for witnesses to come forward to help with what they described as a 'complex' investigation into Ms Penney's death. A provisional trial date for all eight defendants has been set for October 20 and is expected to last between six and eight weeks.
CNA
19-05-2025
- CNA
Singaporean Malone Lam charged in US with heading up cryptocurrency crime ring that stole millions
WASHINGTON: US authorities have charged Singaporean Malone Lam with heading up a 13-member crime ring that allegedly stole hundreds of millions of dollars of cryptocurrency. The 20-year-old has already been charged with stealing cryptocurrency worth US$230 million from one victim in Washington DC. In a new indictment, federal prosecutors alleged that he orchestrated a wider scheme with a dozen other individuals. This included hiding money inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals and shipping them across the US to pay the gang's members. Lam appeared on Monday (May 19) in a court in Washington DC, where he pleaded not guilty to the superseding indictment. The 13 suspects allegedly became friends via online gaming platforms and they developed a scheme that netted them a total of US$263 million. They stole the money from cryptocurrency wallets, converted the crypto into dollars, and then laundered the money. Malone Lam was reportedly central to the scheme and is named in the indictment as one of the gang's two organisers. The US Attorney's office for the District of Columbia alleged that Lam and 21-year-old Conor Flansburg organised the scheme to identify and target crypto users. SPENDING SPREE Lam had already been charged with stealing 4,100 Bitcoin from a single victim, which at the time of the theft in August 2024 was worth over US$230 million. He purportedly spent the money on nightclub visits – paying up to half a million dollars per evening – as well as buying at least 28 luxury cars, some of them worth up to US$3.8 million each. In addition, Lam purchased luxury clothing valued in the tens of thousands of dollars and rented homes in wealthy neighbourhoods in Los Angeles, the Hamptons, and Miami. Federal prosecutors now claim that Lam and Flansburg worked with the gang to identify other high-value targets, reportedly stealing US$14 million from another victim. They also carried out home burglaries. In one incident, they allegedly broke into a victim's home in New Mexico to steal a virtual currency wallet hardware. Prosecutors alleged the gang converted the stolen digital currency into cash, which they shipped out to the scheme's members concealed inside "squishmallow" stuffed animals. RUNNING THE ORGANISATION BEHIND BARS Lam was arrested last September, but allegedly continued to run the organisation from behind bars. He reportedly continued working with members of the crime ring to 'pass and receive directions' while being held in detention, ahead of his trial this autumn. He even allegedly had the ring's members buy luxury bags and deliver them to his girlfriend in Miami. The 13 suspects, including Lam, have been charged under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations (RICO) Act. His lawyer Scott Armstrong previously told CNA that 'Malone Lam looks forward to exercising his right to trial by jury in this case'. The trial is scheduled to begin in October.
