Heists, Scams & Lies

After David Ames's conviction, the hosts receive an unexpected message from his son Dan, insisting his father is innocent. Soon after, they find themselves sitting in Carol Ames's bungalow, listening to the convicted fraudster's wife defend him. As Carol dismisses every piece of evidence that convinced the jury, a troubling question emerges: Is this elaborate denial, or does the Ames family genuinely believe their own version of events? Meanwhile, thousands of victims still face the consequences of sinking their hard-earned money into the failed Harlequin operation; many of them elderly people who invested their pension pots.

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

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Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring

Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir

Sound design: John Scott

Executive producer: Bella Soames

Additional production: Julia Webster

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

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After years of selling Caribbean dreams, David Ames's empire finally crumbles. This episode exposes the network of independent financial advisors who earned millions in commissions for pushing Harlequin properties onto unsuspecting investors. Over 8,000 people lost nearly £400 million, with many elderly victims seeing their pensions vanish overnight.

In 2017, the Serious Fraud Office charged Ames with fraud. After a dramatic 3 month trial, the jury in David Ames’ case returns… 

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring

Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir

Sound Design: John Scott

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Additional Production: Julia Webster

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Desperate investors fly to the Caribbean, only to find a building site. When some speak out online, expensive London lawyers send threatening letters. Behind closed doors, disgruntled former employees tip off the Serious Fraud Office. Investigator John McCarroll begins asking the critical question: is Harlequin a struggling business or something far more sinister? As expert advisors deliver their devastating assessment, David Ames faces a choice that will determine the fate of the thousands who trusted him with everything they had. Will he listen?

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring

Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir

Sound Design: John Scott

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Additional Production: Julia Webster

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 2008 and business is booming at Harlequin. But Ames is spending investor money at an alarming rate – on pirate ships, imported sand, even plans for a private airline. Meanwhile, construction at Buccament Bay is spiralling into chaos. Builders vanish with millions. Accountants and contractors become suspiciously close friends. When Ames finally visits the site, he's shocked by what he finds. Back in Britain, investors discover their promised properties are still empty plots of land, years past their completion dates. Then expert advisors arrive to examine Harlequin's finances… 

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at [email protected] 

Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring

Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir

Sound Design: John Scott

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Additional Production: Julia Webster

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A balmy evening in 2009. Steel drums, champagne, and celebrity endorsements. David Ames – a twice-bankrupt salesman from Essex – unveils his vision: Caribbean paradise resorts where ordinary people can own property for just £1,000. With backing from football legends, tennis stars, and property guru Phil Spencer, thousands of investors hand over life savings and pension pots. But who is David Ames? What experience does he have building international resorts? As money floods in and construction begins, the first cracks start appearing in paradise.

Hosts: George Odling and Andy Jehring

Series Producer: Ósk Pétursdóttir

Sound Design: John Scott

Executive Producer: Bella Soames

Additional Production: Julia Webster

If you have any information you’d like to share with us about Harlequin, please drop us a line at [email protected]

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

David Ames was a twice-bankrupt double-glazing salesman from Basildon with dreams of building a Caribbean property empire. His company, Harlequin, promised ordinary investors luxury resort properties at bargain prices – their slice of paradise and financial security.

Over nearly a decade, more than 8,000 people handed over £400 million. Many bet their entire pension pots on Ames' vision.

But behind Ames’ slick marketing pitch lay financial chaos and systematic deception. While investors waited for dream properties, their money funded pirate ships, imported sand that washed away with the tide, and eye-watering sales commissions.

From a local newspaper investigation that exposed the scheme to the Serious Fraud Office's decade-long pursuit of justice, this is the story of how thousands lost everything betting on one man’s vision. 

Featuring exclusive interviews with victims, investigators, and industry insiders, The Lost Caribbean Millions reveals the human cost of one of Britain's biggest investment frauds. 

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the chief suspect behind bars, some of their closest associates are ready to talk. 

Gently, over the course of nearly a year, reporters George Odling and Andy Jehring follow a trail. Their enquiries eventually lead them to one person, who they believe might have some key information. One day, in a taxi coming back from a job in Europe, Andy gets a call… and it’s the stuff of journalists’ dreams. 

A source tells them that he knows where the diamonds are. 

So, armed with a terrifying briefing from a former British Army officer, a pair of burner phones, and the prospect of spending the rest of their lives looking over their shoulders for professional gangsters, Andy and George head back to Serbia to meet their man. 

If you think you might have some information, please, drop us a line. Please send any tips [email protected] 

New episodes released weekly. Don’t want to wait? Join The Crime Desk now and hear all episodes in the series as soon as it launches. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Reporters: Andy Jehring and George Odling 

Producer: Julia Webster

Sound Design: Jarek Zaba and John Scott 

Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm 

Executive Producers: Jamie East and Bella Soames 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Reporters George Odling and Andy Jehring’s investigation into the Ecclestone diamond heist is now well underway, and, in this episode, they’re off to Europe to make enquiries.

George heads to Milan to meet Francesco Giustolisi of the Milanese police’s Flying Squad, where makes a remarkable discovery about one of Daniel Vukovic’s 19 aliases… And Andy goes to Serbia, also on the trail of the mysterious Daniel Vukovic, who appears to be hiding out in Belgrade. He traces him to his home town of Obrenovanc, about 20 miles west of Belgrade. 

Together – from opposite sides of Europe – Andy and George piece together the real identity of the chief suspect in the case, the first journalists to do so. 

If you think you might have some information, please, drop us a line. Please send any tips [email protected] 

New episodes released weekly. Don’t want to wait? Join The Crime Desk now and hear all episodes in the series as soon as it launches. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Reporters: Andy Jehring and George Odling 

Producer: Julia Webster

Sound Design: Jarek Zaba and John Scott 

Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm 

Executive Producers: Jamie East and Bella Soames

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In 2020, the first arrests are made over the Ecclestone heist, but, after an eight-week trial – one in which George almost accidentally found himself in possession of evidence that directly contradicted the prosecution’s case – all four of those arrested are cleared of taking part in the plot. But these were just members of the gang’s ‘support team’. In this episode, reporters George Odling and Andy Jehring take listeners to Italy, and reveal how those higher up the chain of command eventually ran out of road… all except for one man, who goes by the alias Daniel Vukovic. 

If you think you might have some information, please, drop us a line. Please send any tips [email protected] 

New episodes released weekly. Don’t want to wait? Join The Crime Desk now and hear all episodes in the series as soon as it launches. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Reporters: Andy Jehring and George Odling 

Producer: Julia Webster

Sound Design: Jarek Zaba and John Scott 

Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm 

Executive Producers: Jamie East and Bella Soames 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the heist, Detective Constable Andrew Payne and his team had very little to go on – just the grainy home security footage, two burner phones and a screwdriver left behind by the burglars. In this episode, reporters George Odling and Andy Jehring take listeners to the heart of the police investigation, via a gripping blow by blow account of how the police eventually managed to close in on the suspects via hours of CCTV footage, trawling through 1,007 black cabs, and… an unusual picture. 

If you think you might have some information, please, drop us a line. Please send any tips [email protected] 

New episodes released weekly. Don’t want to wait? Join The Crime Desk now and hear all episodes in the series as soon as it launches. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new series. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Reporters: Andy Jehring and George Odling 

Producer: Julia Webster

Sound Design: Jarek Zaba and John Scott 

Studio Manager: Sam Chisholm 

Executive Producers: Jamie East and Bella Soames 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Join The Crime Desk now get early access to new seasons of Heists, Scams & Lies before anyone else. Plus, you'll get exclusive weekly bonus episodes of our award-winning podcast The Trial, ad-free listening across all of our shows, and early access to brand-new true crime shows. Become a member today at thecrimedesk.com.

Click here to sign up to The Crime Desk's weekly newsletter.

It's free and packed with exclusive interviews, expert insight, and gripping deep dive investigations from across the world.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.