All men are suspicious of their ex-wives, and it seems one ex-wife gives real basis to those suspicions. Shahra Marsh, a glamorous divorcee woman aged 52, managed to con some of the major auction houses and fashion outlets in London into handing over items worth £2,000,000 in exchange for some bogus cheques.

She entered places such as Christies and Sotheby’s, wearing expensive clothes and adorned in expensive jewellery, placed the perfect con on the posh London outlets.

She was being trialled at Southwark Crowd Court, where she eventually admitted her guilt after first insisting she was innocent of fraud. Her career in fraud and deception began just after her divorce. Her husband was a wealthy property developer, who no doubt inadvertently funded her ‘costume’ for her scams.

She eventually pleaded guilty to 38 counts of fraud, theft and obtaining property by deception.

Clive Bellmore