Eight people have been charged as part of a police investigation into a nationwide fraud scam.

Five men and three women were charged by Suffolk police on Wednesday with a total of 19 fraud-related offences. They are all alleged to have happened in 2013.

Daniel Frank, 37, from Ilford, Amiruz Zaman, 36, from London, Lawrence Siaw, 40, from Rotherham, Claire Leslie, 29, Katie Leslie, 24, and Amy Hodgson, 27, all from Southend-on-Sea and Romario Gentile, 24 and Hamza Ahmed, 35, both from London, have been charged.

They are all due to appear at South East Suffolk Magistrates’ Court on December 11.