Farah Damji

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Farah Damji is an Indian-Asian woman who has been described as an "international conwoman and a convicted fraudster" ^[1], with an "infamous reputation" ^[2]. She is the daughter of property tycoon Amir Damji, who lives in South Africa and in London. She has two children ^[3].

Ms Damji first came to prominence in the United States as a "Manhattan art dealer" ^[2], eventually being jailed during 1995 ^[3] in Rikers Island prison, New York, for 121 days for fraud and forgery ^[4].

She eventually migrated to the United Kingdom and became the publisher and editor of the lifestyle magazine Another Generation for the British Asian diaspora before it folded. The magazine was formerly known as Indobrit, but the name was changed when she lost a legal dispute regarding the trademark of the word Indobrit. Damji's articles also appeared frequently in the national broadsheets and the Birmingham Post.

On 13th October 2005 she was jailed in the UK for three and a half years for defrauding thousands of pounds out of dozens of victims and perverting the course of justice ^[3]. The last charge stemmed from the fact that she posed as an aide to the Home Secretary, as well as pretending to be from the Crown Prosecution Service, to try and stop her court case ^[5].

She was released from Downview Prison in Surrey on July 22, 2006 to attend a meeting with her Open University tutor, but did not return as required that same day. She subsequently created a blog, telling her story of life 'on the run'.

According to a BBC report, she was re-arrested by police five days later, on July 27. ^[6].