A man has appeared before Blackburn magistrates charged in connection with a series of high value bank fraud offences allegedly committed around the UK.
Dean Clark, of no fixed abode but from Blackburn, faces 14 charges of fraud by false representation involving a total of £721,000, between June 2020 and June 2022.
One of the charges alleges that in Blackburn and Cardiff, Clark made false representations to make withdrawals and purchases from the account of William Francis totalling £53,570.
The highest value charge alleges that in Derbyshire, Clark and others made purchases to the value of £238,974 using the bank account of Melvin Swindells.
Another alleges the purchase of goods from Watches of Switzerland, Harrods and Watch Finder among other companies, to the total value of £145,290, using an account in the name of Bruce Cooper in Nottingham.
The full list of charges Clark faces are:
- On June 26, 2020, in Nottingham, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by Bruce Cooper, the account holder, to purchase £10,564.74 of goods that included items from Argos, John Lewis, and Scan Computers.
- Between September 30, 2020, and October 10, 2020, at Norfolk, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Olive Chaplin to purchase items from John Lewis and Currys PC World to a total value of £7,618.05.
- Between May 4, 2021, and May 8, 2021, at West Mercia, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, to Jillian Dyer to assist Lloyds Bank with an internal bank fraud investigation and that she should transfer credit balances from savings to her deposit account to the total value of £18,900.
- Between January 23, 2022, and January 28, 2022, at Hampshire, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Robert Green to purchase goods worth £25,585 from John Lewis.
- Between May 9, 2021, and May 20, 2021, at Suffolk, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by Susan Warne, the account holder, to make ATM cash withdrawals of £2,500, and buy goods worth £31,393.68 from Exchange Rate, Asda, John Lewis, Travel SX, Travel Online, Mainline Menswear, and Ebuyer.
- Between June 30, 2021, and July 3, 2021, at London, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Anthony Cox to make £300 of ATM withdrawals and purchase £52,427.20 of goods from Watches of Switzerland, Harrods, John Lewis, the Mayfair Townhouse Hotel, and the Apple Store.
- On June 9, 2022, in Warwickshire, had in his possession articles for use in connection with fraud, namely false identity documents suggesting he was an employee of various UK banks.
- On January 25, 2022, in Hampshire dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Robert Green to transfer a credit balance of £21,000 to another account.
- Between June 25, 2020,and June 28, 2022, at Nottingham, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by Bruce Cooper, the account holder, to purchase goods and services to a total value of £145,290.26 from Harris News, John Lewis, Ebuyer, Scan Computers, Currys, Watches of Switzerland, Harrods, Clarity Distribution, Chisholm Hunter, Watch Funder, Travelex UK, the Currency Club, Easyjet, and Flannels.
- Between May 9, 2021, and May 20, 2021, at Suffolk, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Susan Warne to transfer £15,000 of savings to a current account.
- Between October 12, 2021, and October 23, 2021, at Derbyshire, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder Melvin Swindell to make a £200 ATM cash withdrawal and purchase £238,974.15 of goods from Currys, John Lewis, the Apple Store, Jigsaw, Post Office Travel, Scan Computers, Ebuyer, Goldsmiths, JL Foreign Currency, NM Money, and AO Retail.
- Between June 3, 2021, and June 10, 2021, at Blackburn and Cardiff, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by account holder William Francis to make ATM withdrawals worth £591.99 and purchase goods worth £53,570.95 from Goldsmiths, JD Sports Direct, John Lewis, Currys, Ernest Jones, and Teresina.
- Between October 12, 2021, and October 23, 2021, at Derbyshire, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised to transfer £79,800 by account holder Melvin Swindell.
- Between April 25, 2021, and May 19, 2021, at West Mercia, dishonestly and intending to make gains made representations he knew was false, namely that he was authorised by Jillian Dyer, the account holder, to purchase goods and foreign currency worth £21,506.68 from Next, the Post Office, Eurochange, First Rate Exchange, Power Computing, AO Retail, Giffgaff, Goldsmiths, and Flannels.
Clark, 39, who is currently detained in Hull prison, was sent in custody to Preston Crown Court.
The court heard three other men had already been sent to the crown court on connected charges.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here