Milton Keynes man lied about dead grandad in Rolex watch scam

Daniel Silver, 28, said the watch was left to him by his grandad in his will. He claimed it went missing while he was in a sun bed shop.

The insurance company became suspicious after CCTV showed Silver was not actually wearing the watch when he entered the shop.

And police found that although the grandad had indeed recently passed away, he had not bequeathed a Rolex.

The attempted scam came a year after Silver was convicted for his part in a £1.2m money laundering operation.

The money was stolen from victims who thought they were investing in gold or broadcast airtime.

For that offence he was sentenced at Luton Crown Court to a 12 month community order of 100 hours unpaid work.

The watch scam landed Silver before Milton Keynes Magistrates last week and he was given another 12 month community order - this time with 200 hours of unpaid work

Silver, who lives in Forfar Drive, Bletchley, admitted that he didn’t own the watch and had lied about his grandfather giving it to him as a gift.

During his police interview, he confirmed it belonged to someone he knew. He also admitted he lied about getting it valued at £6,150 by a jeweller.

The City of London Police Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department led the investigation into Daniel Silver.

Detective Sergeant Matt Hussey said: “Not long after he’d helped to launder more than £1m from fraud victims, Silver was continuing with his criminal activity and had turned to insurance fraud.”

He added: “He was even prepared to use the death of his grandfather to try and progress his claim and make a financial gain.

“Thankfully, with valuable support from the insurer and the intelligence they’d gathered through their own internal investigation, Silver’s lies have been exposed and IFED have ensured he’s been rightly punished.”

The Insurance Fraud Enforcement Department is a specialist police unit. It is funded by members of the Association of British Insurers and Lloyd’s of London.