Serial conman Anh Nhu Nguyen met Prince Charles at the scene of the disaster (Picture: PA)

It’s hard to believe that anyone could think about profiting off the back of Britain’s worst disaster in recent memory.

But as the country, the emergency services and a community in west London struggled to come to terms with the Grenfell Tower fire, there were more than a few people who tried.

Serial conman Anh Nhu Nguyen was the first Grenfell fraudster to be found out after being pictured beside Prince Charles as he met survivors.

The 53-year-old pretended his wife and son were killed in the June 14 fire to receive nearly £12,500 from charities and Kensington and Chelsea Council.


He said that his wife and son had died in the fire – it was all lies (Picture: PA)

As part of his deceit, Nguyen spun a cruel tale to family liaison officers, describing in detail how he lost sight of his family in the smoke-clogged stairwell, police said.



But while a major recovery operation was under way on June 15, he was actually nine miles away at a housing charity, according to prosecutors.

He was jailed for 21 months after admitting fraud.

Elaine Douglas, 51, and Tommy Brooks, 52, are the latest in a line of people who tried to dupe Kensington and Chelsea Council out of thousands.

The illegal immigrants falsely claimed more than £100,000 in accommodation as they lived in hotels for nearly a year.

Elaine Douglas, 51, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation (Picture: MET Police) Eventually, council staff realised the flat the Jamaican nationals claimed to have lived in did not exist.

They also tried to take advantage of a scheme allowing residents of the tower block to remain in Britain for at least five years, regardless of their immigration status.

Douglas was housed in the Radisson Blu in Kensington for 276 nights at a cost of £55,000 to the council, as well running up a room service bill of £267.

After complaining about the food in the hotel, she was given a pre-paid credit card, running up charges of more than £11,000, and was also given a pre-paid Oyster card allowing her free travel.

Tommy Brooks, 52, pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud by false representation (Picture: MET Police) Brooks started off at the Radisson Blu before being moved to another hotel, spending 243 in hotels at a cost of £49,000 in total.

He racked up a room service bill of £276 and charges of £9,000 on a pre-paid credit card, and was also given an Oyster card.

Joyce Msokeri, 47, pretended to be the widow of a Grenfell Tower victim to claim £19,000 worth of money, accommodation and other donations.

She was in fact a single woman living miles away.

Joyce Msokeri, 47, pretended to be the widow of a Grenfell Tower victim (Picture: PA)

Msokeri filled a room at a Hilton hotel with donations from well-wishers, and concocted an elaborate ploy to claim insurance on her fictitious partner’s death.

When her scheme faltered, she preyed on a vulnerable man to play her husband, telling investigators she had found him living in a cave in Margate, Kent, where he was fed by tourists, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said.

She was jailed for four-and-a-half years.



Mohammad Gamoota, 31, posed as a resident and claimed his dad died in the fire to get his hands on £7,000 meant for survivors.

He pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud and was jailed for 18 months at Isleworth Crown Court.

Mohammad Gamoota is accused of posing as a resident to get a £5,000 handout and a free hotel

Judge Robin Johnson told him: ‘Looking at your case I am satisfied that any right-minded person would look with utter revulsion.

‘In the wake of a national disaster you decided to enrich yourself while you masqueraded as a true victim.’

Fifteen members of the Naqshbandi family are under investigation for allegedly claiming to have lived in a single flat to receive up to £1 million in aid.

The family, which includes convicted ‘cash-for-crash’ fraudster Masi Naqshbandi, 33, has strenuously denied fraud after telling authorities they shared a three-bedroom property in the council block.

Masi Naqshbandi, 33, met Prince William last September

They were eventually given three flats between them in Kensington.

According to the Sunday Times, only four members of the family were actually listed on the tenancy agreement and several of them registered themselves at the property a day after the blaze.

But Mr Naqshbandi who was jailed in 2012 after staging 250 crashes to make insurance claims worth £6.5 million, says he has evidence that proves the family has been registered with Kensington and Chelsea council for 20 years.

He told the Daily Mirror: ‘What has been said about me and my family is a lie and this information is false.

‘We survived the tragedy of the fire last year and we are now having to go through this hell.’

Families of Grenfell victims have paid touching tributes at the Grenfell inquiry (Picture: AFP/Getty)

Cllr Kim Taylor-Smith, deputy leader of Kensington and Chelsea Council, told Metro.co.uk: ‘Fraud is an issue the council takes very seriously, not just because taxpayers’ money is being used to support people, but because genuine survivors and bereaved families have raised concerns with us, and we share those concerns.


‘Our absolute priority has always been to assist and help first – it is only right that we do so when families are faced with such extreme trauma and tragedy. Where officers had doubts, they reported it, and then investigations would take place. Investigating and proving any type of fraud always takes time, and we work closely with the police.

‘It is hugely important to me that the public perception of survivors and bereaved is not tarnished by the acts of what is a small minority.’