From the London Evening Standard:
A suspected car thief who sold a stolen vehicle to a mother-of-four pretended to be the brother of Tottenham rapper Chip — and even posed for photographs.
The alleged fraudster showed Bernadette Beaumont tattoos on his hands similar to those sported by the grime artist, formerly known as Chipmunk. When she asked to take a picture of him to show her children, he agreed.
There is no suggestion he is related to Chip.
Mrs Beaumont, 45, was conned out of £8,000 after answering a car magazine advert offering a black Nissan Juke for £10,000.
The seller told her to meet him near Golders Green Tube station on February 26. After haggling, he dropped the price to £8,000 and Mrs Beaumont took the car, which had false plates, for a test drive.
A background check flagged “no crashes or finance issues” and she paid cash.
Mrs Beaumont, from Essex, said: “I asked for photos so I could show my children who I knew would be more excited than I was. He told me to take a photo of the tattoos on his wrists because they are exactly the same as Chipmunk’s, and then posed for a cheesy, grinning shot.”
The scam was uncovered the next day when Mrs Beaumont’s brother found the tax disc was fake and the chassis number had been covered up.
Police told Mrs Beaumont the car had been stolen from Bedfordshire, and returned it to its owners.
Nitin Khandhia, partner at BTMK solicitors in Southend, said: “Without finding the fraudster there is little or no hope of her getting back any of her money. We only hope someone who recognises him from his photo will make contact and assist us in finding him.”
Essex police said it was investigating.
