A new BBC Radio 4 podcast is revealing a shocking criminal underworld in the UK where gangs fake wills to steal people’s inheritance.
Shadow World: The Grave Robbers, hosted by award-winning investigative journalist Sue Mitchell, uncovers how criminal gangs are using AI and fraudulent documents to take homes from the dead, leaving rightful heirs without their inheritance.
The five-part series tells of cases never reported before. One story follows sisters Lisa and Nicole who were told in late 2023 that they were due to inherit a significant sum from their estranged Aunt Christine. Anglia Research Services, a company that identifies heirs, informed them that Christine had died without a will, making them her closest surviving relatives.
However, their excitement turned to shock when a Hungarian man named Tamas Szvercsok produced a will naming him sole executor and beneficiary, describing himself as Christine’s “dear friend.”
Anglia Research’s Matt Boardman, a former policeman, said it is not unusual for wills to emerge late in the process, but in this case, there were immediate red flags.
Christine’s neighbour, Sue, said Christine had never mentioned a Hungarian friend. The will was dated 2016, by which time Christine was housebound and receiving almost no visitors. Her address was misspelled, and Mr Szvercsok’s address was listed as a block of flats not built until 2022.
Despite this, Lisa and Nicole were told there would be no police investigation. The process is now frozen, meaning Mr Szvercsok cannot take possession of Christine’s estate, but the sisters have been told they would need to launch a civil case costing tens of thousands of pounds to prove the will is fake.
Sue Mitchell said: “This is the story of criminals who steal other people’s inheritance, robbing them and their rightful heir. You won’t believe it’s going on right now and no one is stopping these thieves.”
Shadow World: The Grave Robbers is available on BBC Sounds from today, 5 July. Also, the first episode will air on BBC Radio 4 on Wednesday 9 July at 9.30am. New episodes will be released weekly.
