'CONWOMAN JAILED'

Marsh, 52, a British national of Iranian/French origin who lived in London's West End accrued an estimated £2 million worth of jewellery, antiques and high value goods between 2001 and 2008, which she obtained by impersonating someone of extreme wealth and paying for the goods by cheques that would 'bounce'.

Marsh was originally arrested for stealing from Christie's auctioneers in London in October 2006 when it was alleged that she had been passing personal cheques in payment for high value auctioned goods, which would be subsequently returned unpaid by the issuing banks. She would put on an act of being an educated and articulate woman, using elaborate stories and methods. Marsh would put huge effort into each offence and would always be the highest bidder at an auctioneer and would collect the goods before payment went through.

Marsh originally concealed the goods in her rented property in Canary Wharf and later, a property she then fled to in Bayswater, West London. Officers also found a key on Marsh which was traced to a safety deposit box in Chancery Lane which contained 104 items of high value jewellery valued at over £770, 000.

In February 2008, officers from London RART uncovered a Docklands storage facility held in one of Marsh's aliases, which contained over £1 million worth of stolen art, antiques and jewellery. Enquiries with French police revealed a long list of victim companies including auctioneers and shops in Paris.

Marsh was sentenced to a total of 6 years imprisonment in connection with fraud and deception charges at Southwark Crown Court on the 2nd of October 2008. She will face a confiscation hearing on the 20th of April 2009.

Detective Constable Marek Coghill of London RART said: " This woman amassed a vast quantity of stolen property through complex and protracted criminal methods. She now has nothing to show for her efforts and the Regional Asset Recovery Teams across the country will continue to remove the proceeds of financial gains from criminality in whatever way this manifests itself.

Detective Inspector Ella Marriott of London RART said: " DC Coghill identified that the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) could be used to not only prosecute Marsh, but also to confiscate the benefit of her criminality. London RART is committed to ensuring successful criminal prosecutions, which allow a criminal's assets to be confiscated under POCA, and thereby ensure that criminals realise that crime really does not pay."