Fraud Squad
 In August and September 2011, Richard Armitage narrated a two part documentary series for ITV about a police investigation into one of the United Kingdom's largest share frauds.
Officers of the Fraud Squad within the Economic Crime Department of the City of London police were filmed over a period of 18 months as they investigated a huge boiler room scam run by George Abrue and his gang.
Victims were conned into buying worthless shares in non-existent companies, often losing tens or even hundreds of thousands of pounds, money that in many cases represented their entire savings. The fraudsters conned a total of £20million from victims who were often elderly or vulnerable.
The programme followed the police as they tracked Abrue and his accomplices across Europe, hoping to recover some of the victims' money before it was spent.
Series 2
Another episode of Fraud Squad was shown in April 2012. This programme followed detectives from the City of London Police and the Metropolitan Police as they tackled organised crime gangs making millions from cash machine crime. The gangs steal customers' bank account details using secret cameras that record PIN numbers, or attaching false ATM fascias over the real machines. Romanian gangs are the main offenders - in the first three months of 2011, detectives from the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime unit arrested 120 Romanians for ATM crime.
August 2013
Another single episode was broadcast in August 2013. It concentrated on a man charged with a multi-million pound mortgage fraud, and two international money launderers.
Video clips from Fraud Squad
Series 1
This excerpt from the first part of the series introduces boiler room fraud, and the particular case that this series follows.
Series 2
This excerpt shows the police's preparations for an attempt to catch fraudsters modifying a cash machine in Portman Square to steal a customer's bank card.
August 2013
This excerpt shows the police closing in on the activities of two suspected money launderers.
Further information
City of London police website: Economic Crime Department, including information about boiler room frauds
City of London police website: news item about the ITV series
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