Fake VIPs swindle Dhs550,000 from victim

Mahmoud Mohsen, Staff Reporter

The Criminal Court in Sharjah on Monday looked into the case of three Arab men charged with impersonating VIPs in the country in order to convince a person of their ability to lift the sentence of deportation against Dhs550,000.

The first witness testified that the plaintiff had filed a complaint indicating that the defendants had circumvented him and claimed that he had been sentenced to deportation, which they could lift in return for Dhs550,000, the court heard.

The witness pointed out that after verification of the information contained in the complaint, the necessary measures were taken to catch the fraudsters by ambushing them. The money was seized in possession of the major defendant.

He also noted that one of the defendants was working in the residency authority, while the other was working for the Civil Defence, stressing that there was no difference in what he testified before the Public Prosecutor’s Office from he did before the Court.

On confronting the defendants, they denied the charges . The first defendant confirmed that he worked in the residency authority and had ties with the complainant. The second defendant confirmed that he retired from his job in the Civil Defense and asked the Court to take into account that he had a child of determination who needs care and that his wife was about to give birth, so he should be with them. He had been already sentenced to 6 months in jail over charges, which he did not commit, he told the Court. 

After hearing the testimony of the witness and statements of the defendants, the court postponed hearing to August 26 to summon the complainant and the third defendant, while the other two will remain on custody of the case.

Recently, a fraudster who posed as a prince and used counterfeit Dubai Courts documents to swindle cash from a female investor was given one year behind bars.

The unemployed African man, 43, wore GCC attire –a cloak, ghutra, dishdasha and headband. He identified himself with a false name, gained her confidence and conned her out of Euro18, 900 (worth Dhs78, 000).