Latest news with #DennisJones
BBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Peterborough youth services to receive extra funding
Peterborough could be home to the region's first "youth zone" and has ambitions to become a "child-friendly" city, according to the local authority, which is set to receive funding under a new government Minister Sir Keir Starmer says money for young people's activities will be made available across the country, to be used for things such as youth clubs and music.A share of the £88m is set to go to Peterborough City the exact amount the city will get has not been revealed, Katy Cole, the authority's cabinet member for children's services, said the council was "absolutely delighted" to have secured the funding. The government said on Thursday that the money would be used to support projects for children "growing up in a digital world" by offering more opportunities in their City Council, which is run by a minority Labour administration, said it would work to draw up an action plan to develop "high-quality" offerings for young people. Leader Dennis Jones said: "Too many people have told us for too long that there is nothing for young people to do."As a former youth and community worker, I see our government's announcement as a truly positive initiative that complements all we wish to see for our children and young people." Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
Daily Mail
23-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Sinister way the greatest threat to America is using DATING APPS to attack us... here's how you spot it
It started much like any other flirty friendship on Facebook. As Dennis and Jessie got to know each other over the coming weeks, the conversation turned from chit-chat to an exciting cryptocurrency venture. Before he knew it, Dennis, 82, a divorced Maryland grandfather, was pouring his savings into the scheme, at the suggestion of his pushy, younger internet companion. When Jessie disappeared, Dennis realized he'd been duped, and his investment gains were bogus. It sent him into a black hole of financial ruin and self recrimination. He took his own life in March 2024 from the shame and heartbreak, his family says. And here's the kicker — this wasn't an ordinary scam, it was bigger, darker, and stoked by geopolitical tensions. Dennis was ensnared in a criminal web that steals billions from Americans each year, and has influential connections up through the Chinese Community Party (CCP). A bombshell report from the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) says online cons are a new front in the contest between the US and China. Dennis Jones, 82, unexpectedly took his life in March 2024 after falling victim to a 'pig-butchering scam' after befriending a woman named Jessica on Facebook Law enforcement raid a suspected online scam farm in Manila, in the Philippines, in January The bosses of Southeast Asia's fraud factories are pals with bigwigs in Beijing, it is claimed. They trumpet party propaganda and profit from state infrastructure development projects. It is everyday Americans looking for love, work or friendship, who fall victim to their 'pig-butchering' cons, in which they're groomed for weeks and then 'slaughtered' for their savings. Nowhere online is safe. From Tinder and TikTok to WhatsApp and Telegram, the scammers use a plethora of social media, job search and messaging apps to hunt for prey. Mike Kuiken, a USCC commissioner, says Washington's piecemeal response is no match for the fast evolving industry, which uses flattery, flirting and AI text messages to fleece unsuspecting Americans. 'These things are industrial-scale fraud factories that are using some of the most modern technology available,' Kuiken said. 'I don't even think American law enforcement has figured out how to get their heads around this yet.' Chinese diplomats in New York and Washington DC did not answer our requests for comment. A spokesperson at China's embassy in Washington DC told the Daily Mail that the report amounted to 'groundless and malicious smear attacks' on the country, and that it worked hard to defeat online fraud. The USCC, a powerful bipartisan panel that advises Congress, says fraud linked to China is spiraling out of control, with losses reaching more than $5 billion in 2024, a staggering 42 percent increase on the previous year. The schemes are often tied to powerful Chinese mafia networks — some already sanctioned by the US government — that are also accused of laundering drug money and trafficking humans. Experts say the scam centers are high-tech fraud factories, often located in old casino resorts in Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and other lawless corners of Southeast Asia. Scam bosses trick and force people into working at their fraud factories, such as these detained near the Thailand-Myanmar border Dennis Jones' children, Matt Jones (right) and Adrianne Gruner (left), had planned to meet with their struggling father on the day he died to help him recover from the massive scam In messages shared by the family, Dennis told Jessica that he would 'have 9000 in my trust wallet by Saturday' The women convinced Dennis to drain his life savings, and even when he had nothing left to give and told her about his deteriorating mental health, she demanded more Thousands of human trafficking victims are forced to staff them under threats of violence — a modern-day slavery crisis hiding behind digital screens. One such network is allegedly led by notorious Chinese triad boss Wan Kuok Koi — also known as 'Broken Tooth' — who was recently exposed for his deep ties to the CCP. That is one of several links between the scammers and Beijing detailed in the 12-page report. The USCC said that Chinese authorities have taken selective action, cracking down only on scam centers that target their own citizens — but have done little to stop the fraud rings preying on Americans. In fact, the report alleges that Chinese state interests are increasingly intertwined with the scam syndicates. These crime groups are even investing in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure projects — Beijing's massive push to connect China to Africa, Europe, and the Middle East through roads, rail, and digital networks. According to the commission, some con centers operate out of BRI-linked economic zones that have effectively become criminal havens. Interpol has echoed the warning, saying the fraud networks are expanding their global footprint. In a recent statement, the international policing agency said such scam centers have now been detected in the Middle East, Central America, and West Africa. Meanwhile, the US response has been disjointed and underfunded, the commission said. Law enforcement agencies struggle to keep up with the sophisticated tactics and cross-border financing behind these crimes. Investigations are complicated by the use of cryptocurrency, shell companies, and money mules, making it nearly impossible to trace the cash once it vanishes into overseas bank accounts. Chinese Mafia leader Wan Kuok Koi, better known as 'Broken Tooth Koi', was arrested in Macau in 1998 Myanmar police hand over five telecom and internet fraud suspects to Chinese police at in Yangon, Myanmar, in 2023 Experts describe a casino and cybercrime hub in the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone along the Mekong river in the Bokeo province of Laos Still, a growing number of money-laundering cases are being uncovered on American soil. In one shocking case earlier this year, two Chinese nationals and their US accomplice were charged in California for laundering more than $13 million in romance scams. The Justice Department last month seized $225 million in digital assets in what officials described as the largest crypto scam bust ever. But the threat doesn't stop at money. The report raises the alarm over Beijing potentially gaining access to massive troves of US personal data seized during raids on scam centers in lawless regions like Myanmar and Laos. 'They're collecting computers, communication devices, and they're collecting a lot of data on Americans, which should concern us as well,' Randall Schriver, a USCC vice chair and former Trump administration official, told the Washington Post. The commission urged Congress to act fast — calling for greater public awareness, improved cybercrime enforcement, and stronger partnerships with Southeast Asian allies to block China's growing leverage. A spokesperson for China's embassy in a statement slammed the USCC report. 'Chinese government stands firm in combating crimes of telecom and online fraud, fighting cross-border illegal and criminal activities and protecting the lawful rights and interests of Chinese citizens,' said the statement. 'China has worked closely with relevant countries to bust a large group of cross-border criminal gangs.' At a time when Americans are already grappling with soaring inflation, economic uncertainty, and a rise in cybercrime, the fact that these cruel, exploitative scams are thriving with alleged backing from a hostile superpower is a bitter pill to swallow.
BBC News
09-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Fully subsidised Peterborough radio station to be reviewed
A community radio station has been receiving rent and rate relief from the council for the past nine years, it has been City Council's current leader Dennis Jones said the authority would be reviewing all organisations and companies benefitting from such relief to ensure fairness and Community Radio (PCRFM) was set up in 2016 at the Herlington Centre in Orton Malborne, by former Conservative council leader, Wayne Fitzgerald, who led the council between 2021 and 2023, said the arrangement was reviewed annually by the council, adding the station provided community value. Documents provided by PCRFM showed its yearly business rates bill totalled £9,231.50 before the 80% mandatory and 20% discretionary relief."We are a not-for-profit community group and there are many of them in the city that receive free rent for example," said Mr Fitzgerald, who is also a director of the radio station."It's on my register of interest, it's all declared," he said."And the council determine whether we qualify [for free rates] or not. And hey ho, they determined we qualified." 'Celebrating the city' Mr Jones said the Labour administration was not "singling out any company at all"."Every organisation that gets rates [relief], they have to qualify for it," he said."And if PCRFM qualify, then that's absolutely fine."The council is quite right to look at its assets and see if it can generate income or revenue, there's nothing wrong with that and we're not offended by it," said Mr Fitzgerald. PCRFM, a music-based community radio station began broadcasting to Peterborough in 2017. It also provides local news bulletins as well as interviews with local people, organisations and station hosts two weekly shows featuring local musicians performing in its studios and promotes local events - and is supported by more than 40 volunteers and three paid of the paid employees is breakfast presenter Kev Lawrence, who says the station's main aims are "celebrating the city and giving a platform for lots of people to share what they're doing". Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
27-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Peterborough summit kick-starts plans for new city swimming pool
A swimming club and a university principal joined politicians at a summit aimed at bringing a public pool back to a City Council hosted the event at its offices on Friday, after the government announced funding could be available for a new facility earlier this has been without an public indoor swimming pool for two years, and it is estimated building a new one could cost £ Jones, the council's Labour leader, said the summit was a chance for different people to "get round the table" and come up with a business case for a new facility. "It was heartening to feel the passion and enthusiasm in the room to deliver a new pool," he said. The government announced plans for a Peterborough Sports Quarter, complete with indoor swimming pool, in the recent spending review. In order to bid for a share of the new £240m Growth Mission Fund, which will be spent on local projects, a business case would need to be put Rachel Reeves said the quarter would form part of the Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) campus in the city and "drive activity and community cohesion".Jones said the announcement had "fired the starting block in attracting the funding needed to deliver a new pool". The city's MPs Andrew Pakes and Sam Carling went to the summit, along with representatives from the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority and ARU were joined by the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, Friends of Peterborough Lido, and local charity, Living the Labour MP for North West Cambridgeshire, whose constituency covers much of the south of the city, said: "We all want to see a new pool delivered for Peterborough."This matters to families, schools, clubs and communities."Morgan Stevenson, from the City of Peterborough Swimming Club, said he was excited by the "ambition and energy" from others in moving the project forward."We're fully committed to working in partnership with the wider group to help deliver the modern, inclusive aquatic facility that Peterborough truly deserves," he added. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Peterborough's Labour administration survives no confidence vote
A Labour-run city council has held onto its leadership after surviving a motion of no confidence First leader Chris Harper put forward the motion after forming an alliance with the Liberal Democrat and Green Party a meeting on Wednesday, 26 councillors voted for the motion while 32 councillors voted against, and one abstained. Speaking after the vote, Labour leader Dennis Jones told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he was "humbled" by the support he received. "Yes, there's an element of relief but I was always hoping that common sense would prevail."I just feel we're on the right track and I want to take all 60 councillors with this administration for the thing we're all elected to do: for the people of Peterborough." 'Common ground' The motion argued that a reduction in Labour group members since last year's election by two had "led opposition members to doubting the capacity of the administration to effectively deliver".Before the vote, Conservative group leader Wayne Fitzgerald said the motion was "bizarre" and that Jones had done a "pretty good job" as said Peterborough First had found "much common ground" with the Liberal Democrats and Green Party, and urged members to vote for the Peterborough First councillor, Mark Ormston, resigned from the group before the full meeting and abstained from voting, meaning he is now an independent will continue to hold its minority administration since taking charge in May council is made up of 17 Labour councillors, 12 Peterborough First councillors, 11 Conservatives, eight Liberal Democrats, seven independents and five Green Party councillors. Follow Peterborough news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
