I used face recognition app to hunt man behind whisky fraud

Samantha Poling, a BBC Investigations correspondent, had an unexpected encounter while working late one evening. She was testing a new facial recognition application and decided to upload a photo of Craig Arch, the CEO of Cask Whisky Ltd, a whisky company that had quickly gained a reputation for its impressive profits and international awards. To her astonishment, the app returned a police mugshot of a man named Craig Brooks, who was linked to a £6. 2 million fraud case that had affected hundreds of victims. This revelation was shocking, as Samantha had not anticipated uncovering such a significant criminal connection while simply testing software. Samantha had dedicated years to investigating serious crimes, including human trafficking and drug smuggling, but she never imagined that her next investigation would involve the whisky industry. A colleague, Liam McDougall, had informed her about a whistleblower who claimed that organized crime had infiltrated the whisky sector. This whistleblower had compiled a list of companies suspected of fraudulent activities, and Cask Whisky Ltd was among them. Founded in 2021, the company had reported a multi-million-pound turnover in its first year and boasted operations in Hong Kong, along with numerous awards. Craig Arch, the CEO, spoke enthusiastically about expanding the company and doubling its workforce within a year. However, when Samantha used the facial recognition software, she discovered that Craig Arch was actually Craig Brooks, a convicted fraudster who had been imprisoned in 2019 for his role in a £6. 2 million investment scam that primarily targeted elderly individuals. After serving his time, Brooks had changed his name and appearance to start anew in the whisky business, even going so far as to list his fiancée as the company's director to circumvent his disqualification from holding such a position. Samantha was determined to catch Brooks in the act, but by the time she began her investigation, Cask Whisky Ltd had vanished, as it was under investigation by the City of London Police for alleged fraud. It seemed that no one was aware that Craig Arch was, in fact, Craig Brooks, a man with a criminal past. While working undercover at a new whisky company called Cask Spirits Global, Samantha finally came face-to-face with Brooks, who was now posing as the managing director of this new venture. Accompanying him were two associates who had also worked for Cask Whisky Ltd and were using false names. During their meeting, Brooks claimed to have 11,000 clients across Europe and boasted about his extensive experience in the whisky industry. He provided Samantha with a list of casks for her supposed wealthy client to purchase, totaling nearly £1. 5 million. However, industry experts later revealed that the prices were grossly inflated, in some cases up to ten times their actual value. When Samantha confronted Brooks weeks later, he admitted his true identity but insisted that he had not committed fraud, claiming he had only been jailed for unfair business practices. Throughout her eight-month investigation, Samantha encountered numerous investors who shared heartbreaking stories of losing their life savings to these scams. She uncovered the ruthless tactics employed by criminals to deceive unsuspecting individuals. The key takeaway from her investigation was clear: anyone considering investing in cask whisky should conduct thorough research, as not everyone is who they claim to be.