Gang that used 'Monopoly money' to swindle jewellers is jailed

A gang of fraudsters, who used 'Monopoly money' to trick jewellers, has gone directly to jail without passing Go. They are going to miss more than three turns, as they have been jailed for a total of 22 years for fraud, theft and money laundering.

The five-member gang switched the fake money - with the word Monopoly printed on it - for real Euros, during deals with a number of jewellers. They even built a special desk that enabled them to hide someone inside the desk, so they could swap the fake notes as the deals were being carried out.

Avon & Somerset Police reported that in total, they conned the jewellers out of £7 million - some £6.1 million of it being taken from Bond Street jewellery dealer John Calleija. He agreed to meet with gang leader Gianni Accamo (44), who counted out wads of genuine money in front of him, but when he turned to put the counting machine away, he switched the cash for fakes. It was only after the dealer left that he realised he had been robbed.

A similar trick was pulled in Bristol, Leeds and Wiltshire. In Bristol, a jeweller lost £420,000 worth of diamonds, diamond rings and watches. He met members of the gang in a hotel, where he was paid in a combination of genuine Euros and a bankers' draft. When a problem was found with the bankers' draft, he was given Euros as security to cover the value of the draft until it was corrected the following day. It was only later he discovered the second bundle of Euros were fakes.

Dr Kirstie Cogram of the Avon and Somerset Police's Economic Crime Team, said: "This was a very successful operation to bring down a well organised group of fraudsters. These crimes have had significant impact on the individual victims, and I am extremely pleased that we were able to recover and return a significant amount of the jewellery that was taken from them. Those convicted will also now be the subject of confiscation proceedings in court – under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002."

It seems none of them will be getting out of jail for free.