Brothers jailed for 4x4 gang scam
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/wales/south_east/6215978.stm Version 0 of 1. Two brothers who masterminded a £1m car stealing scam have been jailed for seven-and-a-half years each at Cardiff Crown Court. James Sheen, 22, and John Sheen, 19, cloned number plates and documents of genuinely-registered machines to sell on bargain-priced stolen 4x4 vehicles. The brothers, originally from West Sussex, were sentenced with 11 others, including their mother and father. The gang was broken up by organised crime officers based in Wales. Some unsuspecting buyers who answered adverts placed by the brothers, who used 14 aliases, had their car stolen by the gang within hours of handing over their cash. Police in Wales began investigating in May last year after an increase in the number of people complaining they had been duped into buying a vehicle which turned out to be stolen. They were utterly ruthless in stealing money from people, regardless of the circumstances Detective Inspector Wayne Morgan Officers in Operation Tarian, an all-Wales police initiative targeting drug dealers and organised crime, answered an advert in a magazine for a Landrover Discovery. They found the Sheen brothers, from a travelling family from the Chichester area, were working a "family enterprise" in which they used their contacts to acquire the stolen vehicles and then provided the forged documents. 'Life-savings' By operating across the UK, they amassed £700,000 in cash and stolen vehicles worth more than £1m. John and Margaret Sheen opened up safe deposit boxes in London to store the proceeds as part of the money laundering. Police seized £700,000 in cash when they raided the gang Detective Inspector Wayne Morgan, of the Wales Regional Task Force, said: "Such was the level of sophistication of this organised crime group that the brothers paid wages to the delivery drivers who were fully aware of the scam and would even reimburse their receipted expenses. He added: "They were utterly ruthless in stealing money from people, regardless of the circumstances, and would often steal the vehicles back off the victims later the same day. "Many people had taken out substantial loans or used their life savings to buy the vehicles only finding out that the vehicles were stolen when they either taxed or re-registered them, or when one of the investigating officers appeared on their doorsteps. Money laundering "Victims included young families in their 20s to elderly people in their 70s." At Cardiff Crown Court on Wednesday, James Sheen, who was living in Leicestershire, and John Sheen, were both sentenced to seven-and-a-half years for conspiracy to steal and deception charges relating to possession of forged passports and driving licences. John Sheen senior, 44, the brothers' father, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for money laundering. Their mother, Margaret Sheen, 45, received a nine-month suspended sentence and a community service order, also for money laundering. Four other men were given prison sentences totalling ten-and-a-half years for adjusting the stolen vehicles and delivering them to unsuspecting buyers. Another four men were given suspended sentences and community orders and one man was given a conditional discharge. |