Wolverhampton DJ facing iTunes fraud trial

Aug 21 2010

Four of the other alleged gang members are from Wolverhampton, including librarian Rajan Aheer, 20, postal worker Arran Jassi, 20, and Sandeep Aheer, 22 and Colton Johnson, 19, both unemployed.

The other three suspected fraudsters are unemployed Lamar Johnson, 19, from Birmingham, James Batchelor, a 27 year-old teacher from Derby and Craig Anderson, 23, from Dartford, Kent.

Appearing alongside the suspected gang members charged with money laundering will be drugs counsellor Sheahan Steele, 41, and jobless Matthew Clarke, 31, both from Birmingham; Leon Miles, 19, from Wolverhampton and 23 year-old Surrey hairdresser Siobhan Clarke.

The alleged scam was one of the first of its kind in Britain.

It comes after six defendants appeared in court this week charged with a multi-million pound iPhone fraud.

It is alleged the five men and one woman defrauded O2 and other mobile phone companies in a global premium phone line plot.

They were arrested on Wednesday after raids in Birmingham, London, Essex and Middlesbrough by City of London Police.

The gang are accused of obtaining more than 900 iPhones under false names and dialing £10-a-minute lines around the clock, leaving companies to pick up the bill.

It is also alleged they created a series of front companies to launder profits and conceal their identities.

All six appeared at City of London Magistrates’ Court on Friday.