Five people accused of defrauding The Office star Ricky Gervais of £196,000
are now facing trial, after their jury was selected. It is alleged that they
forged Mr Gervais' passport and wired the money from his bank account. Two other
people are also alleged to have been the victim of this crime, from which the
proceeds were to be spent on gold bullion.
All five have denied the charges, and the case will open on Tuesday 1st March
at Wood Green Crown Court.
Mr Gervais had not made a comment at the time of writing, but it's not hard
to imagine David Brent claiming credit for the arrest himself, before admitting
that perhaps hours of police work had actually been responsible.
Full details of the defendants below:
Kenneth Speight, 39, originally from Erith, south east London, but now of no
fixed address, denies three counts of conspiracy to defraud between February and
April 2004.
Bank call centre employee Sharonjeet Snobber, 28, of Arthur Shirley Road,
Southampton, Hampshire, has denied the same charges.
Their three co-defendants, who worked for bullion courier company Express
Despatch in Redhill, Surrey, entered similar pleas at an earlier hearing.
They are Mushtaq Javed, 43, of Crawley, West Sussex; Craig Reeves, 28, of
Alton, Hampshire and Harry Peach, 57, of Leatherhead, Surrey.
