Real life 'hustle' as taxi drivers duped out of £9,000 by fake jewellery dealers One cabbie who drove the duo around for days handed over £5,000 to buy into a deal to sell diamonds to a global dealer Taxi drivers were duped out of £9,000 by conmen posing as jewellery dealers in a sophisticated real life ‘hustle’.
Victims thought they were making a quick buck by getting involved in selling precious stones to an international jewellery dealer.
One cabbie who drove the duo around for days handed over £5,000 to buy into a deal to sell diamonds to a global dealer.
A second gave £4,000. A third victim sensed it was a set-up and backed out before handing over any cash.
But fake jeweller Rodney Farson, 42, of Rochdale, and fixer Xolani Tshongwe, 32, of Salford, had plastic beads and not gems, Manchester crown court heard.
The nuggets of ‘platinum’ were iron pyrite - fool’s gold.
One cabbie borrowed £4,000 from a friend which he handed over to the criminals and another went with one of the gang to his bank in Manchester and withdrew £5,000 from his savings.
They admitted conspiracy to steal and got suspended jail terms – Tshongwe for 12 months and Farson for 16.
Police believe there could be other victims of the gang who are too embarrassed to come forward.
Check out all the latest News, Sport & Celeb gossip at Mirror.co.uk
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/re ... z2lJ2t4uGK
Login
Register
FAQ
