The violence continued into his 20s; a night at a club in Southend where a doorman had humiliated him for being drunk saw Sales return with a 2. High on coke, he fired the gun and Sales was promptly arrested by armed police, getting a two-year sentence. Ever creative, in prison he would sell his urine to fellow prisoners addicted to heroin so they could pass drug tests. Sales says he became addicted to crime and the luxurious trappings it brought, desperate to shed the 'little tramp' status he'd been given as a youngster by peers.
He explains: 'Poverty and trauma are the biggest causes of crime globally' and admits that despite 'grafting hard' to support his growing family after getting out of prison, 'I could hear the little devil on my shoulder telling me that I could just commit a few simple frauds, steal a quick few IDs. Identity fraud and fake mortgages became Sales' retirement plan but his crimes were increasingly risky, with one episode seeing him kidnapping lawyers to ensure they wouldn't 'do a runner' with illegally procured funds.
He admits he thought he was an expert in finance, knowing exactly how the credit system worked and learning from the mistakes of those who got caught. He maintains that he was always a fan of the victimless crime, and when a police officer in Sheffield revealed he'd stolen the identity of a woman's dead father - and she was 'crying her eyes out' about it, he says the realisation of the human impact of his crimes came like a 'kick in the stomach'.
With the net closing in on him, he turned on his heels and ended up on the run for six years, hiding in plain sight and moving his family twice to dodge capture - all without telling wife Lynn and his children.
Living in a six-bedroom house in Bromley, Sales became paranoid about capture, even taking three of his own teeth out with pliers so that dental records couldn't track him. Eventually, two policemen on a lunch break at a petrol station in Basildon became his undoing, he was questioned and they realised there was a warrant out for his arrest - a month prison sentence followed, and a teary confessional phone call to his wife.
What would he say to a young Tony that's out there now embarking on a life of criminal activity? If you haven't been caught yet then you're going to get caught eventually. He says he's pleased to have 'broken the cycle' of crime in his family, even if his kids' mates now know all about his past. A couple of days before The Big Con hits the shelves, he picked up the son whose tears as a young child made his father go straight, from university.
He's been there for two months now and I've actually contributed to that happening. That me makes me proud. The Big Con by Tony Sales is out now. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.
Argos AO. Privacy Policy Feedback. Scroll down for video. Share this article Share. Its head of loss knew exactly what this would grant him inside a store — access to restricted areas — and showed he knew his stuff. Sales was offered a contract on the spot. The prank call that might have delayed Brexit by 27 years, and other hoaxes with extraordinary consequences. I ask if there is anything he misses about his old life.
Committing crime never made me happy. It just covered up the rubbish that I was feeling inside. But he says that the few positive interventions behind bars were treated with derision. I never wanted to be sexually abused as a kid. I went on to be someone different many times. It taught me to lie, to cheat. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used.
Topics Cyber Security Security. Language English. Add to Shortlist. Biography Tony Sales is one of very few people to have ever worked at both the summit of organised crime and the pinnacle of fraud and loss prevention.
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Artificial Intelligence. Behavioural Economics.
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