Nine charged with UK-wide mobile phone scam run from Swansea in court

NINE people charged with conspiracy to defraud over an alleged UK-wide mobile phone insurance scam run from Swansea have appeared in court.

The group were due to enter pleas during the hearing at Swansea Crown Court, but prosecuting barrister Tom Crowther asked for a further adjournment ahead of the group entering their pleas.

IN COURT (From left) Mark Davies, Wayne Ghosh and Helen Lianne Lewis.
IN COURT (From left) Craig Odger, Andrew Malcolm Patterson and Craig Pitman.
IN COURT (From left) Mark Rees, Christopher Surman and Omar Humayan Mapara.

Mr Crowther asked for more time for both sets of barristers to look at the evidence.

The group, of eight men and one woman, are from Sketty, Mayhill, Manselton, Brynmill and Gowerton in Swansea and Port Talbot, as well as two from Plymouth and Bristol.

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All the group are charged with conspiracy to defraud.

Defence barristers for all nine indicated they would plead not guilty when the charges were formally put to them on May 10.

It is alleged that between October 20, 2005, and April 21, 2010, the group conspired together to defraud customers of mobile phone providers by selling them purported insurance policies.

It is alleged the policies were unauthorised by the Financial Services Authority and were invalid.

They are, Christopher Mark Davies, 30, of Bickleigh, Plymouth; Wayne Ghosh, 42, from Coedfan, Sketty; Helen Lianne Lewis, 28, of Monterey Street, Manselton; Craig Odger, 28, of Park Place, Brynmill; Andrew Malcolm Patterson, 31, of Pen y Dre, Gowerton; Craig Pitman, 32, of Crown Street, Port Talbot; Mark Rees, 50, of Cedric Close, Sketty; and Christopher John Surnam, 46, of Rembrandt Court, Swansea.

A ninth man Omar Humayan Mapara, 32, of Portishead, Bristol, faces an additional charge of conspiracy to defraud in that between September 2009 and February 2012, at Bristol, with another person known only as Dan, he conspired to defraud Annette and Keith Bigg by purporting to receive money from them for various forms of investment that did not exist.

Mapara is also charged with four counts of false representation which the court was told would be heard in a separate trial.

Judge Keith Thomas gave all nine unconditional bail for them to reappear in Swansea Crown Court.