High society swindler Shahra Marsh charmed...

Tag : designer furniture

Between 2001 and last year Marsh used numerous aliases andaddresses to carry out dozens of swindles. Her victims includedChristie’s and Sotheby’s in London and BeaussantLefèvre in Paris. In one audacious operation, she swindledthe Parisian auctioneers Tajan of paintings, sculptures andjewellery worth £114,000 during four sales held in 2005.
She scoured auction catalogues and store brochures to identifypossible targets before calling or writing a letter expressinginterest in a possible item. She would then make daily personalvisits to ingratiate herself with staff. Wearing the diamonds andclothes already conned from other stores, she was able to build uptrust with senior sales staff and auctioneers.
She managed to convince shops and auction houses of her wealth bypaying a cheque into her own bank account. This would appearbriefly as a credit on her statement, but before it bounced shewould tell her victims that she needed to have her purchasesdelivered urgently.
Assistants in jewellery shops were told that she needed the itemsto wear at a high society event the next day. If they insisted thatshe wait until the cheque had cleared, she would cancel her order.On one occasion a member of staff from the Giafferi auction housein Paris travelled by Eurostar to London to deliver a case ofdiamond and emerald jewellery.
She avoided paying £25,000 in rent on her London flats bytelling landlords the same elaborate stories that she told theauction houses and shops.
Detective Constable Marek Coghill, from the Regional Asset RecoveryTeam, said: “She would drop names and utilise connections shehad made in the jewellery world to provide the illusion that shewas a trustworthy client, so she could eventually circumvent thenormal strict practices.
“She wanted them to think a cheque from her was as good ascash. Very wealthy people don’t like to be questioned aboutwhether they can support a cheque. It is a world that largely hasto act on trust and she knows how to exploit that trust.”
When police tracked her down finally, they found her home filledwith antique furniture, mirrors, statues and silverware. Detectivesalso found a key that she insisted was for the gate to her gardenshed. It turned out to be for a safety deposit box that containedjewellery worth £770,000.
Months later they found a lockup storeroom that Marsh rented inEast London. It contained furniture, jewellery, fur coats, shoesand 16th-century paintings.
Marsh, who received an income from a family trust fund, had fledIran in 1978 and was educated in Paris before moving to London. Shewas arrested finally in April last year.
While on bail she continued to commit frauds until she was remandedin custody in September last year. Even in jail she continued. Shewrote to a storage company saying that she would not be able tovisit them as she was travelling for several months.
Detective Inspector Ella Marriott said: “We may never knowhow much she has taken. This is her pension fund. She is extremelydeceiving and skilful in her endeavours.”