@AycliffeToday
iPAD SCAM COSTS COUPLE £8K
A Newton Aycliffe couple were
duped out of £8,000 by iPad con
merchant Kirsty Cox – despite
knowing her nearly all their lives.
Now they say they still feel
resentment towards Cox, even after
she was sentenced to a two-year
prison sentence in January.
Cox, 37, formerly of Hamsterley
Road, was jailed at Teesside Crown
Court on January 3 for a £450,000
iPad scam leading up to Christmas
2012.
She had pleaded her innocence
at a number of hearings during
2013 before finally owning up to
two charges of fraud at a hearing in
November.
Cold-hearted Cox – spotted by
Newtonians sipping champagne and
laughing with friends in a Durham City
bar leading up to Christmas – didn’t
discriminate over her victims.
She lured them by offering “cutprice” iPads, and at fist delivered them
to demonstrate a “genuine” deal.
Cox then took orders for hundreds
of iPads, with no way of being able to
deliver them.
The people she was scamming
were friends, including one man who’d
known her since infant school and
also worked with her at one point.
“My dad played golf with her dad –
there was no reason to question her
explanation,” the man, who preferred
to remain anonymous, told Aycliffe
Today.
“We had approx 20-30 iPads off her
before the delays came, and they she
started to reel off the excuses, such
as “the launch of the new iPad mini
is affecting stock” and “I’ve been in
hospital unwell” and “don’t worry, it’s
kosher; I supply to the Police too!”
“Having to let friends and
family down was my greatest
disappointment followed by the anger
that I’d been lied to.
“That’s why my wife and I decided to
refund out of our own pocket.
“Our integrity and reputation is worth
more than any amount of money.
“Although we are partly satisfied
with a custodial sentence, there is little
chance of us recovering the £8,000
we have lost so we still feel a huge
amount of resentment.”
Cox was told she faces further
investigations into her finances and
assets, to see if her victims can be
compensated, and she could be
forced to sell her home to recoup
some of the cash.
MEET YOUR BOBBIES
The Newton Aycliffe Neighbourhood
Police Team is often changing, with
officers being moved to different
locations.
Our NPT is active in its work in the
community and is also proactive when
it comes to talking to residents and
being active in the media.
Sergeant Mark Edwards, who writes
a regular blog on Aycliffe Today, is
giving our readers an up-to-date
lowdown on his troops.
In this issue, we focus on PC Mike
Welch…
Sgt Edwards says: “The newest
Police Constable on the team, Mike
was one of the first Police Community
Support Officers appointed and
was based on the NPT at Newton
Aycliffe for several years where he
built up good relationships with the
community he served (Greenfields
and Middridge).
“His desire to become a Police
Constable came to fruition when he
was successfully appointed to the role
in February 2013 and was placed back
on the NPT.
“Mike looks after West Ward
alongside Greenfields and Middridge
and is embracing the opportunities his
job allows him.”
MARK MY WORDS…
With Aycliffe Neighbourhood
Police Team Sergeant MARK
EDWARDS…
I’m sure you’ve all heard the tales
of how back in the day it was safe
to leave your front doors open and
unlocked, how you could leave your
valuables out in the open without
fear of them disappearing, and so
forth. In a Utopic society, that’s how
it should be, but in the harsh reality
of 2014 these ideals work in the
opportunist criminal’s favour.
Crime prevention needs to be
everyone’s responsibility, not just
that of the Police. Day in we receive
reports from victims who have had
their pedal cycles stolen from the
back yard/garden overnight, bikes
that had simply been left in the
open.
Another major concern we note is
in relation to v