Pictured: Piles of MONOPOLY money ‘used to con jewellery dealers out of £500k by conmen using rubber bands to cover up brand name’
An accused fraudster has been linked to three high-value scams in London, Bristol and Leeds
THESE scandalous pictures reveal the piles of monopoly money conmen allegedly used to scam dealers out of diamonds, jewellery and watches worth over £500,000.
Real euros were allegedly switched for board game notes and used to trick dealers in three high-value cons in London, Bristol and Leeds, Bristol Crown Court heard.
Each of the bills had the word ‘Monopoly’ written on them, but this was hidden by a hand used to hold the notes together.
The paper cash bears a slight resemblance to Euro notes but the colour scheme is much lighter and the images on the bills are typically more out of focus.
However, the victims only realised they had been duped after transferring their valuables to the crooks.
Accused fraudster Gianni Accamo, 44, was linked to all three scams.
David Hughes, prosecuting, said he was part of a gang that targeted Australian jewelley dealer John Calleija, who has a shop on London’s Old Bond Street.
Mr Calleija was told an investor had five million euros to buy diamonds and a gemologist – apparently Accamo – went to inspect his stock of precious stones.
A deal was struck at a Covent Garden hotel where Mr Calleija and his bodyguard used a cash counting machine to total 7.7million euros, bundled into 500 euro notes.
Mr Calleija then turned to put the cash counting machine away - the moment at which the real euros were allegedly switched for bundles of fake notes with “facsimile” written on them - concealed by paper bands on the outside.
The diamonds were then collected from Mr Calleija's shop.
Mr Hughes said: “You can imagine his horror when he goes to check the cash.
“It is immediately apparent it is not the same that he had counted in the hotel. It’s counterfeit.
“At some point during that fatal turn around to put that cash counting machine away, the real money has been switched.
Mr Hughes said Accamo was also linked to a £420,000 fraud in Bristol involving jeweller Jack Cohen, who had struck a deal to sell watches and diamonds.
The two met at a hotel where Mr Cohen brought a collection of watches and used a testing pen to count bundles of 100 euro notes.
He then put the cash in the bag and gave permission for the diamonds to be couriered to the buyers in August 2014, unaware that he had just been dealt hundreds of Monopoly notes.
The court also heard that Accamo was linked to an £192,000 scam in Leeds involving a man called Marvin Santos, who lost nine expensive watches and a gold chain to a con gang between September and November 2014.
Accamo denies the above charges but admitted conspiracy to commit fraud in the London scam.
The trial continues.
