Britain's 'most wanted' knifeman who stole mum's car with her two children in back seat is jailed

Jailed: Cedric Brown

A gangster who car-jacked a mum-of-two and sped off with her toddlers still strapped inside was jailed today.

Cedric Brown, 46, was one of the country’s most wanted men when he carried out the terrifying knifepoint robbery.

He was featured on BBC’s Crimewatch as a suspect following a raid in which a couple were tied up and slashed with a knife.

The car-jacking took place in April last year as Brown tried to flee the scene of an attempted burglary.

He threatened Lucy Lawton with an eight inch commando dagger as she took her children to play-school in her Ford Focus.

The 6ft 4in career criminal then sped off with her one-year-old son and two-year-old daughter in their car seats.

Police arrived at the scene in Erdington, Birmingham, to find their

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Divorcee begs judge to save her from financial ruin after ex husband stole £700,000 from friends and family

The case was heard at the High Court Photo: ALAMY By Rosa Silverman and agencies

2:16PM GMT 21 Nov 2013

A divorcee who says she was "swept off her feet" by her "lying" husband who "stole" three quarters of a million pounds from their friends and relatives, is begging top judges to save her from financial ruin.

Faye Gale, 37, who had never used the accounts herself, was previously cleared of any dishonesty and described as a “complete innocent” regarding what her husband was up to.

David Gale used bank and Betfair accounts in her name to run a “Ponzi” scheme.

But a court found she was personally liable for making a “restitution" to a friend who had invested £350,000 with him - a ruling against which Mrs Gale is now appealing.

The mother-of-two told how she was “swept off her feet” by Mr Gale, a financial advisor 13 years her senior who had "appeared rich, successful and extravagant" when they met at Royal Ascot in 2004.

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But their seven-year marriage came to an abrupt end in 2011 when she realised Mr Gale was a "liar and a fraudster" who had squandered a £700,000 investment pot entrusted to him by their nearest and dearest on "disastrous" online football bets, the Court of Appeal heard.

The former mortgage broker left the family home in Great Bookham, Surrey, "almost immediately" after revealing what he had been doing, Mrs Gale said.

She later divorced him, but was left with debts to Kathleen O’Neil, a London-based television producer who was friends with the family.

Mrs Gale said her ex-husband's explanations of his fail-safe betting system was "all Greek" to her and she was completely taken in, just like investors who were lulled into a false sense of security by the "dividends" they regularly received.

She had never used the Betfair gambling site herself and her husband had never even told her the password, the court heard.

He had complete access to her finances, opening bank accounts in her name to which she never had access.

Describing her as a "palpably honest" witness, Judge David Donaldson QC said in March that both she and Mrs O'Neil had "suffered grievously" at Mr Gale's hands and it was a tragedy one of them had to lose the case.

Challenging the judge’s ruling that Mrs Gale must make "restitution" to Mrs O'Neil for most of her losses, Richard Devereux-Cooke QC, for Mrs Gale, said her ex-husband's scheming had torn apart her family and she was as much a victim of his dishonesty as those who trusted him with their money.

He told the Court of Appeal: "Mr Gale was never running a collective investment scheme at all - he was simply misusing or stealing the money.

“It is accepted that the wife had no real knowledge of what her former husband was doing.

"Mr David Gale, it was commonly agreed, was a fraudster who had used bank accounts and a betting account set up in his wife's name.

"She thought it was risk free, as did her father who lost £145,000. The wife was taken in. Her father was taken in, as were other members for the family."

The court heard Mr Gale, a former mortgage broker, had been banned from carrying on regulated investment activities by the Financial Services Authority in October 2005.

Despite the ban he had, for about three years, solicited "investments" on a large scale from in-laws, relations, friends and neighbours, telling all of them that his system was risk free.

His wife's grandfather was amongst his earliest investors.

The Court of Appeal judges reserved their decision on Mrs Gale's appeal until an unspecified later date.

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Strictly Come Dancing: Sophie Ellis-Bextor says thieves who stole from dressing rooms were 'opportunistic'

18 Nov 2013 10:45Police are investigating the incident in which a number of valuables, including an iPad, phone and jewellery, are said to have been stolen

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Wedding organiser stole £10,000 from marrying couples

By Ben Riley-Smith, and agencies

4:46PM GMT 12 Nov 2013

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A wedding organiser stole more than £10,000 from marrying couples by secretly diverting cheques into her own bank account, a court has heard.

Patricia "Lee" Glancy promised customers celebrating at the Wentworth Golf Club she would fill in blank cheques with the club's details before adding her own.

Glancy claimed she was acting to support a dying friend and gave most of the money away to cancer charities, while admitting some was spent on furnishings.

Yet Judge Peter Moss said there was "not a shred of evidence" to support the claim that Glancy had given the stolen cash to charity.

He told the defence: "Your client has committed a grave fraud, a sustained fraud. She has the propensity to be dishonest.

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"I'm told she has given it to charity. There's not a shred of evidence to support it."

When told the defendant had not put money aside because she had been focusing on funding her legal representation, the judge said: "I'm going to be blunt – I just don't believe her. I think I'm being sold a dummy."

Trina Little, prosecuting, said Glancy was involved in five incidents: Four where parties paid by cheque and one involving a bank transfer.

Couple Lisa Patel and Mo Maan had just under £1,940 pounds diverted without their knowledge.

Lauren Sandford's father wrote a cheque for £2,650 pounds as a deposit for his daughter's wedding to Gary Kearton.

A cheque of simmilar value for the reception of Daniella Field and Matt Joy failed to land in the club's account.

Then £1,239 pounds for Nikki Hitchmore and Hooverney Martinez's big day was taken, before Nadine Maraj and Shiraz Sharif had just over £2,300 pounds vanish.

In total Glancy defrauded the brides- and grooms-to-be of nearly £10,800 pounds between March 1 and June 6 this year.

It was only when Lisa Patel emailed and received a message saying Glancy had left the club that the problem came to light.

Wentworth Golf Club began an investigation into the activities of Glancy, who had already resigned. They could not find the files as the fraudster had taken them with her.

Wentworth, in Virginia Water, Surrey, becomes the centre of the golfing world each year when its manicured greens and fairways play host to the PGA championship.

On August 7, after consulting her lawyers, Glancy went to police in Staines-upon-Thames, Surrey, and confessed to her crimes. She was charged with five counts of committing fraud by false representation, which she admitted.

Miss Little said Glancy had told police she was extremely sorry for her actions and that a friend of hers, Thelma Harte, was suffering from terminal cancer and some of the money was given to a cancer charity and "to make some of her wishes come true".

Robert Spencer-Bernard, defending, confirmed in mitigation that Thelma had passed away and he referred to the order of service from her funeral, at which Glancy spoke, in which the deceased's children had thanked those who had helped realise her dream of visiting Canada.

He said: "Ironically one of the ways in which it went was by goods from the golf club shop which were then auctioned at various functions to raise money to pass over for Thelma and also other cancer charities.

"She had also sustained the loss of personal friends. It appears that cancer in one form or another seems to run in her family. She has lost her uncle, grandmother and her sister, who had been diagnosed with breast cancer."

He said his client had been under very considerable emotional stress, in part due to a breakdown in a relationship.

The judge told him: "What I'm trying to find out is there any material that the Crown have to either prove or disprove where the money went? The answer is no and I'm looking to you to show me where the money went."

The judge concluded the hearing, at Guildford Crown Court, by telling the defence: "I suspect very strongly there is no evidence of this because it isn't true.

"This was a really, really mean offence, in relation to people getting married and really mean to her employers, who trusted her."

He deferred sentence until January 30, by which time he demanded proof from Glancy as to what had happened to the money and also that she had begun to put cash aside to refund the club.

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Care worker stole rings from hand of dementia patient

54 at a pawnshop.  Photo: Manchester Evening News By Hayley Dixon, and agencies

10:01AM GMT 11 Nov 2013

A care worker at a residential home stole three rings off the wedding finger of an 88-year-old woman with severe dementia then sold them on for a fraction of their value.

Sally Murphy, 38, sold the wedding, engagement and eternity rings, valued at £2,250, for just £54 at a pawnshop.

Two weeks earlier, she had stolen her mother's £150 eternity ring while she was in hospital suffering from a suspected heart attack. She sold it for £10.

At Manchester Magistrates Court chairman of the Bench Scott Cowap told Murphy: "To take advantage of people like this is a despicable and disgusting crime. This was a high-level breach of trust."

But the magistrates rejected a prosecution claim that it had been a "form of disability hate crime".

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The court heard Murphy had been employed at Marion Lauder House in Wythenshawe, a residential and respite centre.

On October 7, the daughter-in-law of the 88-year-old victim noticed that the three rings had disappeared from her wedding finger. A week later, it was discovered that Murphy had sold the rings, including her mother's, at a shop in Wythenshawe for £54.

Helen Veitch, prosecuting, said Murphy had initially claimed her mother had given her the ring.

But when detectives visited her mother in hospital she said her daughter was lying and had never been given the eternity ring or permission to sell it.

Murphy, who lives with her mother in the town, admitted two counts of theft in September and October. She was sent for sentence at the Crown Court on December 7.

Regarding the dementia victim, Mrs Veitch said she hadn't been in a position to protect herself.

She said: "She was easy pickings."

Tom Stephenson, defending, described the thefts as “opportunist” and said they had been triggered by Murphy getting into substantial debt while on sick leave successfully battling cancer.

He said: "It was inexcusable behaviour but she had also stopped taking her medication which may have had some bearing on what she did."

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