Pinstripe conman dupes dealer out of £32,000 diamonds in Hustle fraud

Wanted: an image of the fraud suspect
12 April 2012

A diamond dealer was conned by a smartly dressed businessman in a fraud likened to a plotline from the TV series Hustle, it was revealed today.

Police are hunting a man who wore a pinstripe suit during the swindle at St Pancras international rail terminal. Police issued a CCTV image today after the trader, based in Antwerp, handed over £32,000 of the gems to the conman.

He had arrived in London from Antwerp by Eurostar on October 28 to meet a man claiming to be a dealer called Michael Levy based in Hatton Garden, who had asked for two specific diamonds.

In the "sophisticated" fraud, the suspect had faked a phone call the day before from the diamond dealer's bank during which it was claimed that the agreed payment for the gemstones had been deposited and cleared.

When the trader met the bogus dealer at St Pancras the man told him he was too busy to go to his shop in Hatton Garden to make the trade.

The Antwerp dealer became suspicious but went ahead on the assumption the diamonds had already been paid for. However, when a colleague in Antwerp went to the bank to access the money he was told there had been no payment.

Police say the fraudsters had gone to some trouble to make the call appear genuine.

Detective Constable Eloise Lock, of the British Transport Police, said: "This was a sophisticated scam that involved faking a telephone call from a trusted source at the bank.

"By the time the trader realised the phone call had been faked the deal had already been made. An address in Hatton Garden provided by the buyer was then found not to exist." The diamonds were an H coloured VVS2 purity 2.01 carat and an H coloured VS1 purity 2.01 carat.

Anyone who recognises the man can call British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40 or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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