Fraudster Busted with Fake IDs and £12,770 in Cash at London Royal Docks
Ignas Valatka, 35, from Western Gateway, Newham, was slammed with six years behind bars at Snaresbrook Crown Court on January 7. The fraudster admitted to multiple charges including possession of identity documents with improper intention and various counts of fraud.
Project Servator Officers Spot Suspicious Van
On July 24, Met Police’s Project Servator team on patrol in London Royal Docks noticed Valatka scavenging in a brown van parked oddly for two weeks. When questioned, he couldn’t say who owned it and made up excuses about why he was inside. He was swiftly arrested on suspicion of stealing the vehicle.
False Addresses and Fake Documents Uncovered
Valatka was found clutching a house key and fob marked ‘Poplar’ but claimed he only rented nearby. Officers soon discovered he had been secretly living at the Western Gateway flat for years. He lied about his flat number—until a search turned up a treasure trove of fraud evidence.
- £12,770 in cash
- Passports, ID cards, and driving licences with his photo but different names and birth dates
- Multiple bank cards not in his name
- Mobile phones, laptops, hard drives, iPads, and sim cards
Valatka was then hit with further charges of money laundering and fraud by false representation.
Fake Business Loan and Web of Lies Exposed
Police uncovered an email from a bank reviewing a £50,000 business loan for a company called Leo Foxtons—one of Valatka’s fake identities was “Leo Foxton.” The firm, allegedly trading in real estate, was set up in 2018 purely to commit fraud.
Detectives confirmed Valatka used false documents to apply for four other loans totaling nearly £194,000.
Detective Constable Scott Pounder said: “Valatka fed officers a string of lies from the moment he was stopped, clearly trying to hide his deception. But thanks to Project Servator’s sharp instincts, his house of cards collapsed. Our financial investigation uncovered the full scale of his fraud, with a photo album of IDs bearing different names but his face — leaving him no choice but to plead guilty. This case proves once again that fraud doesn’t pay. We’ll keep cracking down hard on those who think they can get away with it.”
