A fraudster has been jailed at Kingston Crown Court today for pretending to offer a 92-year-old victim a Covid vaccine in exchange for money.
On 30 December 2020, David Chambers visited the home of his 92-year-old victim at a time when Tier 3 restrictions prohibited social contact between different households. He claimed that he was there to administer the Covid-19 vaccine to the victim, exploiting her expectation of eligibility under the vaccination programme – as a result of her age, she was part of a high-risk group. Chambers pretended to administer a vaccine and then demanded a cash payment of around £140, to cover the vaccine cost. The victim paid an amount to Chambers. She later realised that he must have been a fraudster and reported the matter to the police.
On 4 January 2021, Chambers returned to the victim’s home and demanded a further £100 in payment of the first dose of the vaccine. She wisely refused to pay, on this occasion and alerted the police once Chambers had left her house.
City of London Police used CCTV and phone location evidence to identify Chambers as the perpetrator of the offences. He was arrested on the 13 of January.
Chambers, 33, was jailed at Kingston Crown Court today for a total of 42 months. On 22 June, Chambers had pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of assault by battery.
Maryam Arnott, from the CPS, said:
“David Chambers has a criminal history of exploiting elderly people. On this occasion, he used fears generated by the pandemic to cynically extract funds from a 92-year-old woman. He also placed someone in a high-risk category at risk of Covid transmission, at a time when Tier 3 restrictions were in force.
“The CPS and City of London Police presented a strong case against Chambers, and he eventually admitted being responsible for all three offences.
“The CPS is committed to bringing fraudsters, including those who have exploited the Covid-19 pandemic for their own gain, to justice.”
Detective Inspector Kevin Ives, from the City of London Police’s Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit, said:
“This was a heartless and shocking offence with David Chambers showing a complete disregard of an elderly woman’s health, exploiting public concern during this global pandemic.
“We are grateful to members of the public for the large amount of information received following our appeal, which led to this arrest. Make no mistake: this will have stopped other members of the public being defrauded and assaulted. There could very easily have been more people whose lives were endangered whilst believing they had been vaccinated against this deadly virus.
“The Metropolitan Police Service’s specialist man-hunt team, along with Metropolitan Police detectives, gave crucial assistance during this investigation and it demonstrates how effective partnership working is.
“It is important to remember the vaccine is only available on the NHS and is free of charge. The NHS will never visit your home unannounced or ask for bank details, PIN numbers or passwords, when contacting you about a vaccination. If you receive any communication purporting to be from the NHS asking for payment, bank details or personal details contact your local police force and report to Action Fraud via https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/”
