Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Montgomery driver’s medals for gallantry go under hammer
5yrs’ prison for fraudster who flaunted his riches in videos Thinking outside the box with..
A FRAUDSTER who conned pensioners by posing as a policeman and showed off his ill-gotten gains in videos has been jailed for five years.
Hamza Ali, 23, was seen in footage counting wads of cash, zooming in on the price tag of a £25,550 Rolex and laying out designer clothes on his bed.
He posed as a Scotland Yard detective to trick at least 26 victims into withdrawing cash or handing over jewellery. His last target was in her 70s and was almost conned out of £20,000 of jewellery and her debit card in October 2017. At Maidstone crown court Ali, of Cricklewood, North West London, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud. Det Insp Annie Clayton said: “The impact that these crimes have had on victims is significant.” BRAVERY medals awarded to Field Marshal Montgomery’s wartime driver will be auctioned today.
John “Jack” Burford was alongside Monty from El Alamein, Egypt, in 1942 to the end of the Second World War.
The Military Medal was presented to 23-year-old Jack by King George VI for his “great gallantry and devotion to duty under fire, on dangerous missions during fierce fighting around Sicily’s Mount Etna in August 1943”. Monty wrote: “He never failed or faltered in his duty. His personal courage under fire was an example to us all.”
Jack, from Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, died in 2006 at 85. He did not tell a soul about his experiences. The medal collection is expected to fetch up to £6,000 at Bonhams in London.