A man has appeared at court in Durham accused of being part of a courier fraud-type plot to persuade victims to hand over money and valuables to supposed fraud investigators.

Adam Rankin, 32, is one of three men from the west of Scotland who are accused of conspiracy to commit fraud by misrepresentation, between May 31 and August 15, in 2021.

Appearing at a plea hearing at Durham Crown Court, the defendant, from Dumbarton, denied conspiring with his two co-accused to make false representations to arrange for the collection of money and other valuables to which they were not entitled.

He also denied a further count of concealing criminal property, a sum of money, knowing it to be the proceeds of crime, between the same dates.

The Northern Echo: Judge James Adkin wants all three defendants accused of courier fraud plot to attend Durham Crown

The court heard there are two co-accused in the case for whom a trial date has already been set, starting at the court on July 29.

A 26-year-old alleged accomplice of the defendant, from Inverclyde, appeared at the court on November 30, when he denied the same charges, while a third defendant, aged 40 and from Glasgow, has yet to plead.

The Northern Echo:

Judge James Adkin said he wanted all three defendants before the court in the spring to resolve any issues well ahead of the trial date.

Despite a request for Rankin to be allowed to appear at the pre-trial hearing remotely, by video link, to prevent the need for a long drive from north-west of Glasgow to Durham, Judge Adkin said: “All the defendants and counsel should attend with a view to a realistic assessment of who’s going to be in the trial.”

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Addressing Rankin, Judge Adkin told him: “You have pleaded not guilty at the moment and what tends to happen is that in due course you will have a chance to speak in detail to your lawyers.

“There’s going to be a lot to talk about with your lawyers before the case comes back in March."

It was agreed that a further case management hearing would be heard at the court on March 22 prior to the trial, starting on July 29.