[MSN] Antique buyers deny conning rich

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Antique buyers deny conning rich
Two bogus antique dealers tricked elderly rich people into parting with heirlooms for a fraction of their worth, a court has heard.

Lee Collins and Mark Duncan allegedly bought items for as little as £100 and sold them for thousands of pounds.

The jury at Blackfriars Crown Court was told they had made more than £680,000.

Mr Collins, 39, of Dyke Road, Brighton, and Mr Duncan, 33, of Station Road, Buxted, East Sussex, deny 18 charges of conspiracy, theft and deception.

The court was told the pair laundered the money through the accounts of families and friends.

'Vulnerable' victims

Among the 13 people targeted by the duo were ex-MP Lord Lauderdale and Dorothy Baden-Powell, a member of the family who started the Scouting movement.

Brian O'Neill, prosecuting, told the court the pair had described themselves as antique dealers and directors of the Mayfair-based Sheraton House Antiques.

He said their high-class location was chosen to "convey the impression of respectability and legitimacy and to open doors which might otherwise be closed against them".

	Once inside they would walk round the property as if it were their own
	Prosecutor Brian O'Neill

Mr O'Neill said the pair mailed or cold-called those they believed may have items of interest.

Mr O'Neill added: "Once inside they would walk round the property as if it were their own, opening cupboards and drawers, removing paintings from walls and sifting through valuables."

Widow Catherine Wilson, who was recovering from a hip operation at the time, was cold-called by Mr Duncan in February 2003. He convinced her to sell a painting to him for £100 and then pressured her into selling another for £700.

'Nervous and intimidated'

The paintings were later auctioned for £5,000, the court heard.

Victim David Dickson - who has subsequently died - was visited four times. He sold the pair the family silver for £100, but rejected an offer of £15,000 for a mosaic which his family later sold for £55,000.

Jurors were told another victim, Dorothy Howard, was left "nervous, intimidated and confused" as the pair walked round her flat, pocketing some of her valuables.

They gave the woman £3,200 for four tables which later sold for £55,000.

Lord Lauderdale , 93 and suffering from dementia, was visited last year and tricked into selling an urn for £100. It was later put up for auction with an estimated value of £400-£600.

Ms Baden-Powell let Mr Collins into her house and found him "rifling through the contents of her chest of drawers", Mr O'Neill said. She later found valuable items of jewellery were missing.

The jury were told vast sums were made by the pair and "none of the proceeds were properly declared to the tax man or formed part of a VAT return".

The trial was adjourned until Friday. 

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/