Fraudster admits he pretended his family died in Grenfell inferno
A serial conman has admitted pretending his family died in the Grenfell Tower fire to obtain around £ 12,500 meant for the victims.
Anh Nhu Nguyen claimed his wife and son were killed in the blaze at the North Kensington block on June 14 and was photographed beside the Prince of Wales when he met survivors.
He posed as a victim of the disaster for almost two weeks and was given around £ 12,500 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council.
The 52- year-old, of Becken ham, south-east Lon- don, pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Thursday to t wo counts of fraud by false representation and one c o unt o f making a n unt r ue statement for the purpose of obtaining a passport. More than 80 people were killed in the blaze which devastated the 24- storey building, leaving scores of others homeless.
Nguyen was given a hotel room, clothing, food, electrical items and money after posing as one of the survivors.
He was discovered to be a fake when he gave several different flat numbers, some of which did not exist and one where a real victim lived.
Judge Philip Bart le said: “This defendant has engaged in what the court can only describe as, if he pleads guilty, a despicable offence.”
Nguyen was born in Vietnam and is a British citizen with 17 aliases.