Fraud cases in Sheffield and South Yorkshire over the past ten years

Fraud is and has been on the rise in the UK for a large amount of time. In 2021, according to Money.co.uk, an approximate £2.4 billion was stolen by fraudsters in the UK – an increase of 174 per cent over the previous year.

However, it’s believed that the true figure may be even higher than this, due to the amount of fraud cases that go unreported.

In the past few years, Sheffield itself has seen numerous fraud cases – here’s a few examples.

Nicholas Arran Whiteside

Originally from York, Nicholas Arran Whiteside’s fraudulent affairs spilled over into Sheffield, also. He operated from 2018 to 2019, during which time he used illegally obtained bank cards to make a slew of purchases. These included, but were not limited to: train tickets, laptops, iPads and pre-paid gift cards.

He additionally targeted people he worked with. He would sell them fake tickets at very low prices, tricking them into thinking they’d gotten themselves a bargain. By the time they realised they’d been ripped off, Mr. Whiteside had left the company, taking their money with him.

On January 28, 2022, Mr. Whiteside was sentenced to three years in prison.

Dianna Turner

Dianna Turner of Wincobank was formerly the manager of Glastonbury Guest House, using the business to target vulnerable people’s bank accounts. She defrauded ten different people over course of nine years, all of whom stayed in the guest house under her supervision.

A mother of three, she targeted those who needed supported living – people with disabilities or other health problems. She took the money via cash withdrawals and standing orders, using it to fund expensive holidays in Dubai and New York.

In 2019, Mrs Turner was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Matthew Balme

Matthew Balme, from Ecclesfield, used his position as company secretary for Evoke Music UK Ltd to fraudulently claim £26,000 worth of VAT repayments that were not his to reclaim.

His trial was set to take place in 2018 – however, he fled the country, retreating to Cape Verde. The trial went ahead without the presence of Mr Balme and it was decided that he would serve two years and six months in prison upon his return.

Eventually, Mr Balme was tracked down, brought back to the UK and began his prison sentence.

John Eric Wells

Commonly known as the “Casanova Conman”, John Eric Wells is the only person on this list who has yet to receive a formal criminal sentence. However, he is wanted by South Yorkshire Police for allegedly defrauding his victims for a cumulative £400,000.

Mr Wells has been accused of using romance fraud to amass the money he took from people, tricking several women in Doncaster, Sussex and London over the age of 40 into online relationships. It’s reported that Mr Wells began his operation as far back as 2014.

He used several different aliases during this time, including Howard Walmsley and Howard Hemmings. If you see Mr Wells, or have information which could aid the investigation, call South Yorkshire Police on 101 and cite the investigation number (A54532/17).