Female fraudster fooled hotel staff into packing up and handing over £80,000 of property belonging to one of their guests
- Anisha Anwar, 35, from London, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation
- She called a hotel in Hackney several times and pretended to be a guest there
- Anwar was so convincing that staff packed their belongings worth £80,000
A female fraudster has been convicted after she fooled hotel staff into packing up and handing over £80,000 of property belonging to one of their guests.
Anisha Anwar, 35, of Harrow Road, London, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation on December 15 at Wood Green Crown Court.
On the afternoon of October 8 Anwar called a hotel in Hackney a number of times and pretended to be one of their guests.
She claimed that they had a family crisis and needed to leave as a matter of urgency.
Anisha Anwar (pictured), 35, of Harrow Road, London, pleaded guilty to fraud by false representation on December 15 at Wood Green Crown Court
Anwar was so convincing that staff agreed to pack their belongings worth more than £80,000, including a number of luxury brand items.
She arranged for a licensed mini-cab to collect the bags and take them to Maryland Railway Station where an associate was waiting for them.
The guests returned to their room and reported the theft the following morning.
Detectives launched an investigation and were able to follow the cab’s movements and identify the driver.
He told officers where he dropped the bags and gave the description of a man who was waiting for him.
Phone records provided officers with the mobile number that had been used to make the calls.
Using advanced forensic methods, officers linked the phone to Anwar, a known fraudster.
She was arrested and later charged on November 11.
She arranged for a licensed mini-cab to collect the bags and take them to Maryland Railway Station (pictured) where an associate was waiting for them
Detective Sergeant Ian Cleghorn, from the Central East BCU, said: ‘Anisha Anwar has a history of committing fraud and this latest offence was truly audacious.
‘She managed to fool the staff into handing over property – estimated at more than £80,000 – that did not belong to her.
‘However, her inflated confidence proved to be her downfall as the mobile phone she used to commit her crime was found where she was living.
‘I would like to praise the work of my team throughout this investigation. The efforts taken to trace the cab and track the mobile show that we will use every method and technology available to us.’
She will be sentenced on January 13, 2022.
Enquiries to identify the man who collected the bags remain ongoing.
Source: Read Full Article
