{"id":50490,"date":"2017-09-13T00:46:24","date_gmt":"2017-09-13T00:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=50490"},"modified":"2017-09-13T00:46:24","modified_gmt":"2017-09-13T00:46:24","slug":"model-football-cheerleader-trial-accused-profiting-boyfriends-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thefastfashion.com\/?p=50490","title":{"rendered":"Model football cheerleader on trial accused of profiting from boyfriend’s fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rebecca Batchelor is alleged to have known that huge sums of cash transferred into her bank account as part of her former lover’s dodgy dealings were the proceeds of crime<\/span><\/p>\n

A model is on trial accused of benefiting from her ex-boyfriend’s conspiracy to defraud a large number of elderly people.<\/p>\n

Rebecca Batchelor, 21, is alleged to have known that huge sums of cash transferred into her bank account as part of her former lover, Anis Ben-Sghaier’s, dodgy dealings, were the proceeds of crime.<\/p>\n

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Known as Bekka, Batchelor rose to fame as she was one of a number of cheerleaders at Billericay Town who were sacked for being too distracting to players.<\/p>\n

Batchelor, of Rayleigh, came before Chelmsford Crown Court, Essex, for the start of the case against her yesterday.<\/p>\n

Alongside her in the dock were Anis Ben-Sghaier’s younger brother, Bilal, of Harlow, and Cathereen Welch, of Waltham Abbey, who is also the former lover of Ben-Sghaier.<\/p>\n

All three defendants, who are alleged to have committed one count of converting criminal property between January 2013 and September 2016, deny the charges.<\/p>\n

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Rebecca Batchelor on her phone outside the court<\/span> (Image: Essex Live\/BPM MEDIA)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Turning to the case against the trio, prosecutor Sarah Przybylska explained to the jury of twelve how the defendants were supposedly connected to the widespread scam.<\/p>\n

She outlined how brothers Anis and Amin Ben-Sghaier, who have already pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud a number of people, would cold call elderly people and offer to make them lot of money.<\/p>\n

Their victims would be fooled into believing that by making a payment of cash upfront, which they were told constituted taxes, auctioneer fees and down-payments, they would be able to make a hefty profit.<\/p>\n

“It was all a lie,” said Ms Przybylska.<\/p>\n

“The money they paid would not go to auctioneer houses or to the tax man.<\/p>\n

“It would go to Anis, Amin, and their associates. These defendants were among those people.”<\/p>\n

Expanding on the prosecution case, Ms Przybylska explained how the defendants had money paid into their accounts by some of the victims and went on to spend it.<\/p>\n

“Each of them knew, or suspected, that the money were the proceeds of crime,” she said.<\/p>\n

“The prosecution say that they did know \u2013 they of course say that they didn’t.”<\/p>\n

Ms Przybylska then read from a list of victims who lost money at the hands of the older Ben-Sghaier brothers, including 79-year-old John Price who was conned out of \u00a3190,763.07 between November 2013 and May 2015.<\/p>\n

Mr Price, who was cold-called and told he was buying investments in rare earth metals, paid money into accounts belonging to Amis, Amin, Bilal, Welch and Batchelor, it is claimed.<\/p>\n

Turning to another victim, Ms Przybylska revealed how 87-year-old Dorothy Hepper lost \u00a3780 as part of Anis and Amin Ben-Sghaier’s scam, but that money was not paid into any of the defendants’ accounts.<\/p>\n

Adv<\/em>.<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n