Operation Ore - A Victim's Story

This is the story of how one family suffered because of an identity theft that appears to have originated on the Tesco on-line shopping server in the UK where it was registered by an innocent British family wanting to shop on-line in 1998. The real story, however, is how the British police pounced on the innocent man involved. Here he goes public under his real name.

The individual involved is Simon Bunce of Hampshire UK. He now tells the story in his own words.

Identity Theft Report

Simon Bunce

In March 2004 I was arrested, my house was searched, and the Hampshire police seized my Compac handheld computer, numerous flash memory devices, compact disks and floppy disks.

I was arrested because of evidence from the USA that someone, using my name and previous address, subscribed to an Internet pornography website via a gateway site called Landslide Productions Inc. in May 1999. This website was widely reported in the UK media under the name of Operation Ore.

On 9 June 2004, I firmly believe that I was followed to work by officers working for the Hampshire Police. Subsequently, on 23 June 2004 I was sacked without notice or compensation by my employer, Interxion Carried Hotels Limited of London. A breach of contract action has been launched against my former employer because they did not follow the correct procedure.

Prior to this I was earning £120,000 per year plus benefits. Last year (2006), I earned just under £30,000.

My house was searched again in September 2004, and the Hampshire police seized another computer that my wife and I used.

Later in September 2004, I received a letter from the Hampshire police stating that as there was no evidence of any wrongdoing found on any of my computers or on any of the hundreds of flash drives, CD disks or floppy disks they had seized during their two searches they were not taking any further action in my case. They told me to come and collect my property or they would dispose of it.

There have been 39 reported suicides of innocent victims who could not bear the shame and humiliation of similar police accusations under Operation Ore. The unofficial number of suicide deaths of suspects on bail is likely to be in the region of 200.

I appreciate that by now publicising what happened to me in this manner this may cause me more pain and suffering. I take heart in the fact that this further suffering will be nothing compared to the ongoing, lifelong suffering of the bereaved who lost innocent loved ones as a result of similar police actions. If my public stand gives those bereaved families just one crumb of comfort, then I will consider that my job will have been done.

We, as a family, have been financially crippled by the actions of the police. Our family home is on the market because of the financial situation we now find ourselves in and we will be moving shortly.

What the UK media seem not to have been told at the time Operation Ore was launched was that there was evidence of widespread credit card fraud associated with the database from Landslide. Only now is this information starting to come out.

Tesco Stores Limited has confirmed the fraudulent credit card transaction. Furthermore they have confirmed that prior to me registering for their on line shopping service, they linked my Tesco Personal Finance Credit Card, issued by Royal Bank of Scotland plc, to my Tesco Club Card account, allowing me to earn Club Card points whenever I purchased goods or services with my Tesco credit card.

It was only when I visited (the computer forensics expert’s name is removed here for now) that I discovered the true extent of the fraud that was perpetrated in 1999. He has for the past 30 years been the pre-eminent computer forensic expert witness who has trained the police in evidence gathering. He was the expert witness in the Serious Fraud Office prosecution of BCCI in 1995. He was able to give me all the answers to all my unanswered questions. He forensically examined the Landslide database and produced for me a comprehensive report detailing the single entry showing my name that appeared on Landslide Subscriber Database. (Editor. This is the database that was secured by the Operation Ore action group last year and is being used as evidence in the class action against the UK police).

The forensics expert was also able to show me verifiable evidence of credit card fraud and identity theft. From the information that he provided, which revealed the single entry showing my name that appeared on the Landslide Subscriber Database, this personal and financial information is identical to the information which I entered into the Tesco on-line shopping server when I registered with Tesco to shop on-line in 1998. Furthermore, the Tesco.Net email address was registered by me solely to enable my wife and me to log onto the Tesco on-line shopping server and thus enable us to shop on-line at Tesco. It is my belief that this is the route from which my data appears to have been obtained by fraudsters. I do not know how it came to be in the hands of a fraudster who used it on Landslide. I have written to Tesco to ask for information about security standards and leaks.

In view of what happened to me, I fear that my personal information was then sold on to criminals. It ended up in the hands of a man called Michael Yamin who is resident in Jakarta, Indonesia. Mr Yamin is also known as “Miranda” and was indicted in the USA District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division in April 2000. Mr Yamin’s sealed indictment reference is 4-00CR-056-Y. He is a webmaster. This means that he produces and hosts websites. Some of his websites are pornographic. Yamin registered his websites with Landslide so that members of Landslide, for a monthly fee debited from a credit card, could view his websites, and he would receive commission from Landslide for every subscription.

It appears from research since that Mr Yamin, or someone working for him, then entered my details into the Landslide Subscriber Database, subscribing to one of the websites that he owned, controlled and were active in 1999. Money was then debited unnoticed from my credit card account, and Mr Yamin received commission from Landslide Productions for that transaction. Current information is that Yamin actually owned or controlled a total of eighty-four websites, only twenty-six of which were active during 1999. The forensics expert went on to say that he has clear evidence that in August 1999 alone, it is estimated that Mr Yamin stood to gain in excess of $100,000 from these activities.

These figures are for a period after Landslide’s credit card processing facility had been withdrawn and thus they did not pay any webmasters after 08 August 1999. None of the webmasters (including Yamin) was aware of this and their fraudulent activities continued. This is likely to be on the conservative side because refunds and charge backs were not itemised, neither is it possible to assess the possible effects of multiple renewals.

I do not know whether the police knew of the credit card fraud from the beginning of the Operation Ore investigation. If the police did know of the credit card fraud, then they chose to ignore it. (Editor. The class action will reveal that they did know about the fraud, but went ahead despite this. They also lied to Parliament and the media about it and continued to broadcast these lies until the action group began to publish the new evidence.)


• I believe in the presumption of innocence.
• I believe you should do everything possible to prevent identity theft.
• I am slightly right of Vlad the Impaler (1431 to 1476) in my political thinking when it comes to matters concerning child abuse.
• I believe that if you are cautioned by the police, you must say nothing – however much you are provoked.
• I believe that confessional evidence should be removed from the judicial process.
• I believe that we have the right to expect that the police investigate diligently, and not rely solely on fitting someone up and bullying a confession out of them.

I would welcome being contacted by any other innocent victim who has been damaged or indeed bereaved by the criminal and corrupt actions of the Operation Ore or any of the offshoot ‘cowboy’ police units in the UK.

In the first instance, please email me with your contact details. I will then check to see what entry is showing on the Landslide Subscriber Database, and if you or your dead relative is showing, I will contact you personally.

The Hampshire Police response to Operation Ore is called Operation Danforth.

The Hampshire police officers involved include:

Det Supt Jonathan Fox – recently resigned. See BBC news story about the court action against him for the assault of a 14 year old girl.

Det Supt Mark Fortheringham – took over running Operation Danforth after Fox

Det Insp Chris Seymour – currently under investigation for his role in Operation Danforth

DS 2791 William Whale – believed to be under investigation for his role in Operation Danforth, currently serving at Southampton with the Drugs Squad.

DC 870 Rachel E Fraser – believed to be under investigation for her role in Operation Danforth, current serving at the CID at Andover Police Station, Andover, Hampshire.

PC David Cogden and WPC Thornton – nothing known, however my investigations are continuing.

However, all the police officers named above work for the Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary, and he carries the burden of responsibility for the criminal and corrupt actions of the officers under his command. At the very least, I require a public apology from the Chief Constable followed swiftly by the payment for appropriate compensation for the damaged victims, but how can you put a monetary value on a single human life? Finally, I require the Chief Constable of Hampshire Constabulary to resign immediately in atonement to the damage he has caused 154 innocent victims of the witch hunt in Hampshire alone and for the three innocent, untimely deaths.

The Andover Advertiser ran a front page news story on Simon.

See also the revealing and important comments that follow it.

Tonight programme

On Thursday 4 May 2007, Simon Bunce had an impressive interview about his ordeal on the UK Tonight TV programme.

Watch the video of his appearance here.

Claim for Judicial Review lodged against Jim Gamble

Simon Bunce has lodged a request for a Judicial Review of the statements and actions of ex Operation Ore senior policeman Jim Gamble, currently head of Britain's child protection agency.

Proposed claim for Judicial Review

1. To
Mr James Gamble, Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
33 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London SW1V 2WG
2. The claimant
Mr Simon Bunce, xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
3. Reference details
Reference my letter to Mr Gamble dated 10 February 2007.
4. The details of the matter being challenged
I wish to challenge Mr Gamble’s administrative decision not to reply to my letter of the 10 February 2007.
5. The issue
A copy of my letter to Mr Gamble dated 10 February 2007 is attached. It is self-explanatory. As an Officer in the Serious and Organised Crime Agency (SOCA), Mr Gamble is not above the law – he must answer my letter, or be ordered so to do.
6. The details of the action that the defendant is expected to take
I am seeking Mr Gamble to write a complete substantive answer to the point raised in my letter of the 10 February 2007.
7. The details of the legal advisers, if any, dealing with this claim
None
8. The details of any interested parties
Earl of Errol, House of Lords, LONDON.
9. The details of any information sought
Why Mr Gamble’s answer to Lord Errol’s question, number 221 on 10 January 2007 before a House of Lords Select Committee do not appear to be factual. One of the duties and responsibilities of a Police Constable is to be honest and tell the truth.
10. The details of any documents that are considered relevant and necessary House of Lords, Minutes of Evidence, taken before The Select Committee on Science and Technology (Sub-Committee II) entitled Personal Internet Security on Wednesday, 10 January 2007.
11. The address for reply and service of court documents
XXX XXX XXX
12. Proposed reply date
24 March 2007, 14 days from today’s date.

Other information

Simon Bunce has also written to Lord Erroll.

10 February 2007

Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll
House of Lords
London
SW1A 0PW

Dear Lord Erroll

Re: House of Lords, Minutes of Evidence, taken before The Select Committee of Science and Technology (Sub-Committee II) - Personal Internet Security

I have the honour to refer to your question, number 221, which you put to Mr James Gamble on Wednesday, 10 January 2007.

It is my understanding that his reply was not accurate.

Please find enclosed a copy of a letter I have written to Mr Gamble, dated today.

If I can be of any further assistance, please contact me.

My Lord, I remain your obedient servant.

Yours sincerely

Simon Bunce

Encl. – copy of my letter to Mr James Gamble, dated 10 February 2007.

Bunce first letter to Gamble

10 February 2007

Mr James Gamble
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
33 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2WG

Dear Mr Gamble

Re: House of Lords, Minutes of Evidence, taken before The Select Committee of Science and Technology (Sub-Committee II) - Personal Internet Security

I refer you to your answer to Question Number 221 put to you by Earl of Erroll on Wednesday 10 January 2007, concerning credit card and identity theft.

You stated, “We never prosecute someone simply on the basis of their credit card being used”.

I put it to you that this is not correct.

On 2 March 2004, I was arrested by Police Officers involved in Operation Ore. The only evidence against me was a single (fraudulent) entry in my name, at my previous address, on one of the Landslide databases. After 7 months, without so much as an apology, I was sent a “No Further Action” letter. By then, my life and financial wellbeing had been destroyed by this allegation.

I have since had the entry relating to my name examined by the UK’s most eminent computer forensic expert, and he has concluded that this single entry is fraudulent.

I would welcome your comments and your explanation as to this apparent false statement.

Yours sincerely

Simon Bunce

cc. Merlin Sereld Victor Gilbert Hay, 24th Earl of Erroll

Bunce second letter to Gamble

06 March 2007

Mr James Gamble
Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre
33 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2WG

Dear Mr Gamble

Re: House of Lords, Minutes of Evidence, taken before The Select Committee of Science and Technology (Sub-Committee II) - Personal Internet Security

I refer you to my letter to you dated 10 February 2007.

I do not appear to have received a response.

Could you please at least acknowledge receipt of my letter?

If I do not hear from you within the course of the next 7 days, I will take any further action that I deem appropriate.

I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely

Simon Bunce


More on Jim Gamble here