Cases
Cases
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R v VV Snaresbrook Crown Court 2025
Online Fraud
Phoebe defended a young man accused of involvement in an online fraudulent spoofing scheme. The organisation provided fraudsters with subscription services to assist them in fraudulently obtaining one-time passcodes. Following careful submissions the defendant (who was 16 at the time of the offences) was given a community order.
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R v D & 4 Others [Southwark Crown Court] 2024
Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed by Lansbury Worthington Solicitors as led junior in this three-month fraud case involving £20m of funds, misappropriated as a result of a large-scale VAT acquisition fraud involving the use of sham trade to apparently offset output tax received in the course of legitimate transactions.
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Operation Northleigh [Isleworth Crown Court] 2024
Family Fraud following Grenfell Disaster
Leading prosecution counsel in an eight-week trial. All defendants were members of the same family. They were charged with various allegations of fraud that arose from representations made in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower disaster. Instructed by CPS, SCU.
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R v D [Southwark Crown Court] 2024
Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed by Brooklyn Law as junior alone in this fraud case involving £2m of misappropriated funds, taken from a high net worth individual. After pleading guilty to a lesser offence, albeit relating to the same value of loss, the defendant received a 20-month prison sentence, deemed served through a combination of time spent on remand and on a qualifying curfew.
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R v ML [Kingston Crown Court] 2023
Conspiracy to Defraud
William appeared as junior counsel for the defence in a 12-week trial in which his client was alleged to have fraudulently obtained over £10 million through an overseas investment scheme. The case involved a detailed understanding and comparison of a substantial volume of financial information, including bank records. Instructed by Brooklyn Law.
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R v AK [Southwark Crown Court] 2023
Client acquitted of all charges in £5m money laundering offences
Led by Jeffrey Israel, Phoebe defended an Italian national charged with multiple money laundering offences alongside multiple co-defendants, many of whom had fled the jurisdiction. The defendant was acquitted of all offences following a six week trial at Southwark Crown Court.
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R v Lourides [Kingston Crown Court] 2023
£10 Million Ponzi Scheme
Olivia Haggar, led by Cameron Brown KC of Red Lion chambers, prosecuted Marios Lourides for his part in running a £10 million Ponzi scheme. Following a 13-week trial at Kingston Crown Court, he was unanimously convicted and sentenced to 10 years. Instructed by CPS SEOCID.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/fraud-notts-county-court-accountants-scam-b1126914.html
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R v A & 2 Others [St Albans Crown Court] 2023
Fraud & Bribery
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS’s Serious Economic Organised Crime and International Directorate as a led junior in this three-handed three-month trial centring around the large-scale and dishonest procurement of goods by an employee of, and suppliers to, an NHS Trust.
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Operation Ananke [Southwark CC] 2023
Twenty One Hander Loan Fraud
Leading Junior for the Crown. Twenty-one handed indictment alleging a loan fraud carried out against NatWest Bank. This trial dealt with the first seven-defendants. The fraud was operated by defendants who ran a finance company in Wood Green. Two defendants were ‘inside men’ and worked within the bank. The value of the fraud was in excess of £1m.
[Instructed by CPS, SFD].
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R v. S and A [Luton] 2023
Long-running employee fraud against the NHS
Sam Willis prosecuted this case of fraud by false representation and abuse of position, where an NHS worker had been submitting fabricated timesheets that were then paid by his partner (a manager in the same department). During a two-week trial, various strands of evidence collected by the NHS Counter Fraud Authority were presented to the jury, including timesheets, emails, door access records, and computer access logs.
Sam was instructed by the CPS Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate.
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R v AK [Southwark Crown Court] 2023
Money Laundering - Ongoing
Alejandra is being led by Jeffrey Israel in representing AK, one of eight defendants accused of defrauding a large number of victims and businesses in the UK, Canada, Trinidad & Tobago and the USA. The total sum of monies defrauded is over £3m. The Crown’s case is that the organised crime group arranged a large number of payment diversion frauds where victims were defrauded into diverting direct debit payments to ‘mule’ accounts. One of the business targeted is said to be American Express. Having obtained the money through the diversion frauds, it is alleged that the money was then laundered through mule accounts. This case involves voluminous amounts of banking and telephone evidence.
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R v S-P & T [Southwark] 2023
Investment Fraud
Ben Holt led for the prosecution in this trial of two defendants alleged convicted of committing fraud by abuse of position in relation to investments made on behalf of clients. Both were directors of an advisory business. They fraudulently advised their clients to invest in an investment scheme that they had set up. Both businesses failed; leaving their clients at a financial loss. [Instructed by CPS, SFD Manchester].
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R v JZ & ors [Inner London Crown Court] 2023
Employment Fraud - Ongoing
Alejandra is instructed as sole counsel to represent JZ, who is one of 10 Defendants alleged to have been involved in a large-scale employment fraud and money laundering operation.
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R v VC [Southwark Crown Court] 2023
Confiscation Proceedings
Phoebe prosecutes in confiscation proceedings involving a multi-million pound mortgage fraud. These proceedings involve the application to vary the original confiscation order on the basis of ownership of property, principles of joint ownership and third party interests.
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R v FD & RJ [Guildford] 2022 2022
Romance Fraud
Leading Anna Dutka, and instructed by the Serious Economic, Organised Crime and International Directorate (SEOCID) of the CPS, prosecuted this case of romance fraud, where vulnerable victims were defrauded of £426,311.68. Victims were targeted based on their sexuality, age and poor health, with the defendants posing as younger men seeking romantic relationships to gain trust. Over 80 victims were identified. The defendants were sentenced to 8 years and 3 years 9 months’ imprisonment respectively.
News articles:
https://www.cps.gov.uk/cps/news/romance-fraudster-who-scammed-over-ps400000-victims-jailed
https://www.getsurrey.co.uk/news/surrey-news/surrey-singleton-conned-fraudsters-who-25828717
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R v T & 7 Ors [Leeds Crown Court] 2022
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by Kangs Solicitors as a led junior in a 7-month trial of eight defendants alleged to have been complicit in the United Kingdom’s largest ever money laundering scheme, in which £266 million in cash was allegedly laundered through the international trading of gold bullion.
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Operation Locomotion [Southwark] 2022
VAT evasion
Lead prosecutor in a six-handed VAT evasion trial. The defendants were convicted of setting up a warehouse in Essex that was used to divert alcohol that should have been travelling under bond. The scheme was running for almost a year; the total loss to the Revenue was over £2m. Instructed by CPS, SFD Liverpool.
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R v B & 3 Others [Southwark Crown Court] 2022
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this two-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of an organised criminal group who laundered the criminal proceeds of stolen, and ‘rung’, vehicles.
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R v. S, W and W [Wood Green] 2022
£170k voodoo money cleaning scam
Sam Willis prosecuted this case of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation, where the defendants had convinced a vulnerable victim to give her life savings over to them to be 'cleansed' of voodoo. The evidence presented over an 8-day trial included hours of audio recordings, showing that the defendants never had any intention of returning the £170k cash.
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Operation Scoutish [Kingston Crown Court] 2022
£30 Million Money Laundering Scheme
Olivia Haggar, led by Cameron Brown KC of Red Lion chambers, prosecuted several individuals for their part in a £30 million money laundering scheme. Following two trials at Kingston Crown Court, all were convicted.
Instructed by CPS SEOCID.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-64879444
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001wzvf/big-little-crimes-series-2-11-moneylaundering-gang
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R v MK [Bristol Crown Court] 2022
Large Scale Frauds
Catherine Farrelly prosecuted male convicted of large-scale frauds.
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R v C & 7 Ors [Southwark Crown Court] 2021
Immigration Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this eight-handed immigration fraud, arising from a Home Office investigation into the large-scale abuse of the UKBA’s Tier 2 (skilled workers) leave-to-remain visa system.
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Operation Cullinan 2021
Multi-Company Boiler Room Fraud
Mark Heywood KC leading Gregory Fishwick defended in this multi-company boiler room fraud that sold diamonds as investments. The Crown’s case was that a team of brokers including Lewis Bloor from The Only Way is Essex used false identities and pressure sales techniques to con elderly and vulnerable people from hundreds of thousands.The evidence against them included a purported confession that was excluded upon application by the Defence. The Crown also sought to include companies either side of the Indictment period as evidence of bad character but this again was successfully resisted. The Defence managed to show that the Crown’s disclosure was fundamentally flawed. Having read the written submissions the Crown initially dispensed with their own expert who had valued the stones and nearly worthless. Having then considered the supplemental written submissions on disclosure the Crown had to concede that they could not continue to prosecute any and all of the Defendants. Instructed by Bark & Co.
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R v RG & Ors [Southwark Crown Court] 2021
Money laundering
Led junior in a successful multi-handed prosecution involving a conspiracy to launder money through money service bureaus in West London.
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Operation Radiator [Manchester Crown Court] 2021
Revenue Evasion & Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division as junior alone in this three-handed revenue evasion case, arising from an HMRC investigation into the activities of a UK-based organised criminal network involved in the evasion of £41.5m in tobacco duty, and the smuggling of £6.7m in cash out of the UK.
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R v N [Basildon Court Court] 2021
Conspiracy to Commit Fraud
Acquitted in a multi-handed case.
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R v G & 5 Others [Southwark Crown Court] 2021
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS as a junior alone (two-counsel application pending) in this six-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of a bureau-de-change concerned in the large-scale laundering of criminal pound sterling into Euro currency.
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R v S & 3 Ors [Southwark Crown Court] 2021
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS London Complex Casework Unit as leading junior in this four-handed money laundering case, involving the activities of an organised criminal group who laundered the criminal proceeds of stolen, and ‘rung’, vehicles.
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R v W & Others [Norwich] 2020
VAT Evasion
Acting for the prosecution (to be lead by a silk) in a complex VAT evasion case arising from the activities of a used car business.
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R v M&F [Kingston] 2020
VAT Evasion
Led junior for the prosecution in a VAT evasion case arising from the running of various nightclubs in the South East. Loss to the Revenue alleged to be over £500,000.
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R v L&A [Kingston] 2020
Ponzi Scheme
Led junior for the first defendant in an alleged high value Ponzi scheme fraud.
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R v N Operation Arnold [Maidstone] 2020
Duty Evasion
Junior alone for the prosecution in a case of duty evasion worth over £230,000.
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R v. A [Aylesbury] 2020
Employee theft of £45k by manipulating computer records
Sam Willis was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit to prosecute this theft case. The Defendant had been manipulating the computer records at her workplace, in order to steal £45k during her three years of employment. Sam was able to use his previous IT experience in order to collate and condense the 500 pages of computer evidence into a clear schedule for the jury.
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R v N [Maidstone Crown Court] 2020
Proceeds of Crime
Rupert Kent was instructed by DJMS Solicitors as junior alone in this opposed pre-charge application for the extension of a moratorium period under s.336A of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002, arising from a Defence Against Money Laundering request made in relation to a suspect bank account.
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R v A & 8 Ors [Southwark Crown Court] 2020
Banking Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed by ABV Solicitors as junior alone (two-counsel application pending) in this nine-handed fraud case, involving the alleged activities of a criminal network in removing £500,000 from customers’ bank accounts. The case comprises over 50,000 pages of evidence.
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Operation Merseyside-1 [Isleworth Crown Court] 2020
Proceeds of Crime
Rupert Kent was instructed by teh CPS Proceeds of Crime Unit as a led junior in confiscation proceedings arising out of this 4-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution.
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R v C & 7 Others [Southwark Crown Court] 2020
Immigration Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this eight-handed immigration fraud, arising from an HMRC investigation into the large-scale abuse of the UKBA’s Tier 2 (skilled workers) leave-to-remain visa system.
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R v T & 12 Others [Leeds Crown Court] 2020
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by Kangs Solicitors as a junior alone (QC application pending) in this 13-handed money laundering case, involving the alleged laundering of £260m in the proceeds of crime. The case comprises 15,000 pages of evidence, and the trial has a four-month time-estimate.
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R v C [Guildford Magistrates’ Court] 2020
Insolvency
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior alone by the Insolvency Service to prosecute a defendant accused of s.387 Companies Act 2006, s.13 Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, and s.235 Insolvency Act 1986 offences, and arising from the defendant’s various failures after his property company went into administration.
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Operation Northleigh [Isleworth CC] 2020
Grenfell Tower Fraud
Ben Holt prosecuted this two-handed trial. Both defendants were convicted by a jury of having committed fraud by lying that they were living in Grenfell Tower at the time of the disaster [Instructed by CPS, SCU].
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Operation Tennyson [Southwark] 2020
International 'Phishing' Fraud
Jeffery Israel led Phoebe Bragg in this 5 month case involving over 250,000 pages of evidence. Defendants accused of international ‘phishing’ fraud and subsequent money laundering. Vast quantities of banking and telephone evidence as the monies were layered from the UK, onto Nigeria via China, giving rise to multi-jurisdictional issues and disclosure requests.
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R v. N [Newcastle] 2020
12-handed conspiracy to evade £2.6m duty on tobacco
Sam Willis was instructed as led-junior in this 12-handed tobacco importation matter. The overall duty evaded was calculated to be over £2.6 million. Preparation for the case required extensive analysis of mobile telephone billing data.
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R V S & 3 [Ipswich Crown Court] 2020
Revenue Evasion
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in this four-handed revenue investigation case arising from a joint police and HMRC investigation into the activities of a UK-based organised criminal network involved in the evasion of tobacco duty.
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R v. JO’C [Kingston] 2019
£1m Fraud
Gregory Fishwick acted for this Defendant who was one of three people accused of defrauding a vulnerable elderly male of his life savings and his home to a total value of over £1Million. His name had appeared on the original conveyance file as the purchaser at a significant undervalue (£20,000) and he was also identified as being involved in the later transfer of title. Despite both other Defendants pleading guilty during the course of the trial, Gregory secured a unanimous acquittal for his client. Instructed by Paul Martin Solicitors.
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R v. G & ors [Southwark] 2019
Conspiring to defraud the Legal Aid Agency and perverting the course of justice
Natasha Wong QC leading Merry Van Woodenberg of 2 Hare Court acted for a Compliance Manager acquitted of conspiring to defraud the Legal Aid Agency and perverting the course of justice. The defendant was the Compliance Manager of a London firm of immigration solicitors who was alleged to have played a central role in a scheme to create and submit fraudulent claims to the Legal Aid Agency ( LAA, previously the Legal Services Commission) over a 6 year period. The Compliance Manager , a former employee of the LAA, was also said to have been instrumental in misleading them through correspondence and telephone calls during the course of the investigation. The Crown had alleged the firm made over 4000 fraudulent claims on behalf of bogus clients, creating convincing forgeries of documents belonging to genuine clients in support of purported genuine applications to the Home Office . This scheme comprised 40% of the firm’s income from the Legal Aid Agency over that period. The Crown’s had estimated the total value of the fraud at about £4 million.The client was acquitted by the jury in under an hour of deliberations.
The principals of the firm were convicted of the conspiracy last year.
Instructed by Graeme Hydari of Hodge Jones and Allen.
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Operation Balaban - Southwark 2019
Multi-Million £ Carbon Credit Fraud
Mark Heywood KC defended in this £7 million carbon credit fraud listed for three months. Following extensive legal argument before the close of its case, the Crown, who relied in large part on evidence of the state of the carbon credit market at the relevant time, was forced to acknowledge that its expert fell well short of the standards required in legal proceedings and that there had been disclosure failings such that it was unfair to continue to try the defendants. This case hit the headlines after the alleged expert, Andrew Ager, was discredited leading to many other convictions to be looked into on alleged mis-selling of carbon credits.
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R v Anwar Hussain & ors [Southwark] 2019
MTIC Fraud
Jonathan Polnay led William Davis in this long running MTIC fraud involving five companies and tax losses of around £13M. There were multiple trading chains supported by a wealth of forged documentation, and the proceeds of the fraud were transferred offshore via banks in Eastern Europe and Hong Kong.
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R v CA [Woolwich] 2019
Fraud
Acquitted of Fraud after successful submission of no case to answer.
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Operation Mowhawk [Croydon Crown Court] 2019
Conspiracy to commit fraud
Pauline Thompson led Olivia Haggar in a conspiracy to commit fraud and associated money laundering. All ten defendants were convicted. Instructed by Croydon Trading Standards.
https://news.croydon.gov.uk/ten-sentenced-after-croydon-led-trading-standards-operation/
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Operation Baghrash [Bristol] 2019
Conspiracy to defraud the N.H.S and D.o.H
Ben Holt appeared in this 8-week, seven-handed, prosecution trial acting as led junior. Allegations related to the application to the Department of Health for grants in order to improve care homes by a Hospice in Somerset. Seven-handed conspiracy to defraud the NHS and DoH in relation to tenders made for building projects. Instructed by CPS SFD Manchester.
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R v David [Southwark] 2019
£15m Investment Fraud
Jonathan Polnay acted in the Prosecution of investment advisor for defrauding nearly £15 million from investors. The case involved complex third party confiscation proceedings.
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Operation Nemo - R v DP & Ors [Swansea] 2019
Multi-handed Fraud
Ria Banerjee was led by Matthew Buckland (Carmelite Chambers) in an eight week trial representing D1 in a ten-handed conspiracy to defraud members of the public of c. £½ million through the operation of a call centre selling products that did not exist or were never provided.
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R-v-R & Others [Maidstone Crown Court] 2019
Conspiracy to Launder Criminal Property
Led junior for the Crown in a large conspiracy to launder criminal property via warehouses in Kent that received vast quantities of goods obtained through European distribution frauds. The value of the goods laundered by these defendants was over £1.8million.
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R-v-M & G [Harrow Crown Court] 2019
Money Laundering
Junior alone for the first defendant who ran a money service bureau accused of laundering over £100,000 of criminal property.
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R v Abubakar Salim & ors [Blackfriars Crown Court] 2019
Fraud and Money Laundering
Mr Martin was leading Counsel for Mr Salim. The case centred around the activities of two men who worked at high street banks who assisted another in creating a significant number of sham bank account for the use in a transfer fraud. The legal issues involved the proper application of the definition of “Criminal Property” following cases such as R v GH [2015] UKSC 24 and R v Loizou [2005] 2 Cr App R 37.
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Operation Gwendreath [Southwark] 2019
Money laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this 18-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution. The case comprised 8,000 pages of evidence and 270 witnesses, and was split into four trials.
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Operation Auxin [Maidstone] 2019
Fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed as leading counsel by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in a 7-handed fraudulent evasion prosecution investigated by Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs. The case involved complicating fitness-to-plead considerations.
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Operation Pescara [Blackfriars] 2019
Carbon Credits & Diamond Fraud
Gregory Fishwick was instructed to defend a senior broker in a financial institution who was accused with others of conspiracy to defraud. The allegation was that pressured sales techniques were used to convince generally elderly people to invest in firstly carbon credits and later diamonds. In fact, the investments were either worthless or significantly of a lesser value than indicated. Gregory lead a solicitor from the firm who instructed him and the Defendant was acquitted by the jury.
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Operation Cranfield [Southwark] 2019
Confiscation
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a junior alone in confiscation proceedings arising from a £7m drug importation prosecution in which he had appeared as a led junior. The POCA proceedings involved use of a European Investigation Order to gather information from Belgium relating to a pre-existing foreign confiscation order.
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Operation Banjax [Southwark] 2019
£Multi-Million MTIC Fraud
James Martin, leading Ben Holt, were instructed on behalf of Mr Aslam by Bark & Co Solicitors.
The case was an MTIC Fraud which was part and parcel of Import Duty Diversion on Beers, Wines and Spirits. According to HMRC the OCG were accountable for significant losses to the UK Exchequer through associated large scale VAT and Excise duty frauds. The group also conducted a substantial money laundering operation in relation to the proceeds of these crimes which was believed to be in excess of £86 million.
13 different individuals were said to be involved along with a whole host of MTIC and Buffer companies some of which sold on the BWS to end user Cash & Carries who were never investigated.
The case was split into two trials with Mr Aslam D1 in Trial 2. As the case developed there were significant issues with the evidence and associated disclosure problems which related to material that had been withheld by HMRC and should have been disclosed far in advance of the trial itself. After considerable legal argument in Mr Aslam’s case we were able to restrict the alleged loss to HMRC to less than £7k.
Ultimately Mr Aslam was convicted but only received a Suspended Sentence Order.
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Operation Zajic [Southwark] 2019
£Multi-Million Charity Fraud
Sarah Forshaw QC acted in this Multi-million pound charity fraud. Our client, a Rabbi, was said to have facilitated the laundering of millions of pounds using Chabad UK Charities as a front for his illegal activities, the accounts it is alleged, were used to process the proceeds of sales of counterfeit, prescription or unlicensed medication sold online. The money was thereafter withdrawn through currency exchanges, payments to Money Service Bureaus, cheques, withdrawn in cash. 234 transfers totalling £8.4 million were sent to 51 different entities based overseas, predominantly in Hong Kong and Cyprus to remove the money from the UK. Instructed by ABV Solicitors.
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Operation Merseyside [Isleworth Crown Court] 2019
Money Laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the CPS Complex Casework Unit as a led junior in this 5-handed conspiracy to convert criminal property prosecution. The case comprised over 12,000 pages of served evidence and almost 100 witnesses, and involved the service and disclosure of US-sourced material.
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R v [VD] [Isleworth] 2019
Fraud involving the sale of a Lucien Freud painting of Francis Bacon
Phoebe Bragg successfully prosecuted in a fraud involving the Defendant purporting to be in possession of a genuine Lucien Freud painting of Francis Bacon, stolen in the 1980’s from a Berlin Gallery, and offering it for sale.
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Operation W 2019
Money laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed by the SFO to give legal professional privilege advice in relation to material seized during the search of a solicitors firm, members of which were being investigated for the layering of criminal profit through international client accounts.
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Operation Mutisia [C.C.C.] 2019
Money laundering
Rupert Kent was instructed as leading counsel by the CPS International Justice and Organised Crime Division to prosecute a money laundering case relating to £6m worth of the proceeds of numerous international invoice diversion frauds. This case arose out of a large multi-jurisdictional National Crime Agency investigation, and comprised 6,000 pages of served evidence.
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Operation Major [Guildford] 2019
Multi handed conspiracy to money launder and commit fraud
Jonathan Polnay led Ben Holt for the Crown in this seven-handed conspiracy to launder the proceeds of a two-million-pound fraud. Instructed by CPS Specialist Fraud Division.
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Operation Wintergreen [Southwark] 2019
Investment fraud
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior counsel by the CPS Specialist Fraud Division in a conspiracy to defraud case arising from a large-scale, complicated, carbon credits ‘investments’ scam leading to £2.4m worth of loss, and comprising over 15,000 pages of evidence.
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R v BH & 3 others [Blackfriars] 2018
Internet Banking Fraud
£500k internet banking fraud against elderly victims by bank employees. Catherine Farrelly led Charlotte Hole, instructed by the CPS International Justice and Organised Crime unit, prosecuting 4 defendants following an investigation by the National Crime Agency Cyber Crime Unit . The case centred around the activities of two men who worked at high street banks who assisted another in creating a significant number of sham bank account for the use in a transfer fraud, raising legal issues about the definition of ‘criminal property’ under s.340 POCA 2002.
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R v P [Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court] 2018
Insolvency
Rupert Kent was instructed as junior alone by the Insolvency Service to prosecute a defendant accused of a s.354 Insolvency Act 1986 concealing property offence, arising from the removal of property after the making of a bankruptcy order, itself arising from an initial failure to pay taxes to HMRC.
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R v Abdi-Jalebi [Southwark] 2018
Multi-million pound renewable energy research fraud committed by Cambridge academic
Jonathan Polnay proescuted this Cambridge University academic who carried out a £2.5 million fraud in government grants. Dr. Ehsan Abdi-Jalebi, 38, a former engineering student and Bye-Fellow at the university, used faked documents to siphon off money into his own accounts from funding allocated to the development of renewable energy projects.
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Operation Pearland [Isleworth] 2018
£7 million Ponzi Fraud Scheme
Ben Holt led Junior counsel in Prosecution of two defendants accused of a ‘Ponzi’ fraud. Losses amongst the defendants exceeded £7m. Both defendants convicted after trial. Both received the maximum sentence available – 10 years’ imprisonment.
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R v. McLeod & ors [Croydon] 2018
£700K fraud against the Redundancy Payments Service
William Davis led in the prosecution of a group of accountants who committed a £700K fraud against the Redundancy Payments Service (RPS), a government agency that makes payments to workers owed money when their employers become insolvent. The Defendants arranged for 105 false applications to be submitted, in some cases supported by false identifies and forged documents. This was the first ever prosecution for fraud against the RPS. In a separate investigation, William Davis again led in the prosecution of Lennox McLeod for a VAT fraud committed during the same period as the RPS case. The defendant took over the VAT affairs of a company after the death of its director and falsely claimed over £100K in VAT refunds.
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R v. Rekaya [Isleworth] 2018
Prosecution of £90,000 Grenfell fraudster
Catherine Farrelly successfully prosecuted a man who ran up nearly £90,000 in accommodation and travel costs, after pretending to be a victim of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
He was sentenced to four years and six months imprisonment.
The news report may be found here.
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Operation Eric [Chelmsford] 2018
£3.6m Alcohol duty & VAT evasion fraud
William Davis led Dickon Reid in the prosecution of five defendants charged with a £3.6m alcohol duty and VAT evasion fraud. The ringleaders were importing beer, wine and spirits from Europe using sophisticated mirror loads. Evidentially, the case was complicated and comprised numerous strands including surveillance, phone evidence, CCTV, business records and expert evidence relating to cell site, handwriting and tachographs. The two leading defendants received sentences close to the statutory maximum. Instructed by CPS Special Casework.
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Kent Trading Standards v. ADRIVEFORLIFE.COM [Maidstone] 2018
Fraud by False Representation and Money Laundering
Pauline Thompson successfully prosecuted the director of ADRIVEFORLIFE.COM who pleaded guilty to 19 counts of Fraud and one count of Money Laundering. He was sentenced to 38 months imprisonment and disqualified from acting as a company director for 4 years.
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R v Freddy David [Southwark] 2018
Prosecution of financial advisor for £15m fraud on clients
Jonathan Polnay prosecuted this rougue financial advisor who stole nearly £15 million from wealthy clients to fund his gambling addiction and pay his children’s school fees.
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Operation Pleach [St Albans] 2018
Multi-Handed Courier Fraud
James Martin represented the defendant in this multi-handed courier fraud. Operation PLEACH was a Hertfordshire Police investigation into a series of 36 courier fraud offences committed across England between the 1st March and 29th November 2016.
This was another case in which the Crown wrongly indicted a global conspiracy when there were clearly multiple and separate agreements between various defendants. As a result the Crown had to concede the position and substantially change the indictment meaning that DA was no longer charged with any Conspiracy count at all. Instructed by Bark & Co.
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Operation Willsbridge [Southwark] 2018
£2.1m International Fraud upon Film Rental Equipment Companies
James Martin represented SH in this matter who was charged with being party to a large scale International Fraud against a number of Film Rental Equipment Companies who were based across the Globe. The Fraud was organised from the UK where the Organised Crime Group assumed the identities of some legitimate businesses in the industry. They were able to dupe associated Insurance companies as well and arrange various hire contracts over a significant period that were worth £2.1m. Ultimately the Crown were persuaded that the evidence of a Global Conspiracy was not present in SH's case and the indictment was amended to a single substantive money laundering offence in his case. SH was duly acquitted by the Jury. Instructed by Bark & Co Solicitors.
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In the matter of M [Southwark] 2018
Manipulation of interbank benchmark rates
Natasha Wong QC acted for former derivatives trader in regulatory proceedings brought by the FCA and in criminal proceedings involving the alleged dishonest manipulation of interbank benchmark rates. Instructed by Withers Worldwide/Sternberg Reed.
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Operation Primrose [Liverpool] 2018
HMRC "Red Diesel" VAT Fraud
James Martin was instructed as Leading Junior for this defendant charged with 10 others in a case that involved an huge undercover investigation by HMRC into an alleged nationwide Red Diesel laundering Fraud. There were said to be two principle laundering sites: one in Birkenhead and the other near Ashford in Kent. Following over 12 months of covert surveillance and a 3 year investigation 11 men were charged with being involved in the Conspiracy said to have involved a loss of over £500k to HMRC in unpaid VAT.
The case was split into two trials. During the first trial it became apparent that there were a number of issues with disclosure in the case. This followed repeated requests for disclosure by the Defence teams. At the beginning of the 4th week, and after the OIC was subjected to cross-examination on the voir dir, HMRC were forced to seek an adjournment of the Trial once they realised the scale of the disclosure problems in the case.
The application was vigorously opposed by the Defence and ultimately refused by HHJ Trevor-Jones. In his damning ruling he said that there had been “negligence to a lamentable degree” which was “indicative of a more systemic failure.” As a result of the Judge’s ruling HMRC offered no Evidence against the defendants left in the case. Instructed by The Stokoe Partnership.
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R v DE & ors [Kingston] 2018
Conspiracies to cheat the revenue by importation of dutiable goods to the UK
Natasha Wong QC acted for the defence in this case involving conspiracies to cheat the revenue by importation of dutiable goods to the UK and launder proceeds of crime . Instructed by Paul Martin & Co.
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R v J Abidi & ors [Southwark] 2018
Money Service bureau accused of laundering £60m proceeds of drug/revenue crime
Natasha Wong QC was trial counsel for owner/manager of Money Service bureau accused of laundering £60m proceeds of drug/revenue crime involving detailed analysis of surveillance material/ covert recordings and ledgers. Instructed by Hodge Jones and Allen
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R v.S (Canterbury) 2018
Rogue trader prosecution. Instructed by Kent County Council Trading Standards.
Pauline Thompson successfully prosecuted a rogue trader builder who was sentenced to 61 months imprisonment on a fraud of £38,000. Disqualified from company directorship for 10 years and a CBO imposed indefinitely.
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R v KS [Wood Green] 2018
Multi-handed Uber fraud
Phoebe Bragg successfully secured a suspended sentence with others receiving immediate custodial sentences, in this trial of Uber drivers in a multi-handed Uber fraud.
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Operation Northleigh [Isleworth] 2018
Fraud of the Grenfell Tower victim fund
Ben Holt prosecuted the Finance Manager of the Grenfell Finance Team. She was employed by the RBK&C to assist in providing financial assistance to victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster. However, she stole £62,062 from prepaid credit cards that were allocated to survivors of the fire. During the course of the investigation into that allegation, it transpired that the defendant had defrauded her previous employer, the NHS. Defendant received a custodial sentence of 5-and-a-half years. Instructed by SCU, London.
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R v J Smith & ors [Bristol] 2017
Conspiracy to steal £1.9m of telecommunications equipment
Natasha Wong QC acted for this Company director acquitted of conspiracy to steal £1.9m of telecommunications equipment and laundering the proceeds by creating false paperwork through a network of Companies. Instructed by JD Law.
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Operation Lunar [Birmingham] 2017
£Multi-Million HMRC Tax Avoidance Prosecution
Sarah Forshaw QC and Robert Ellison acted in the defence of this defendant charged with 10 others of a multi-million pound conspiracy to cheat HMRC. The fraud centred around multiple tax avoidance schemes. The charges were dismissed against our client following legal argument. The trial on the remaining defendants is listed for 6 months in 2019. Instructed by King and Spalding LLP.
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R v. Abifade & ors [I.L.C.C.] 2017
Fraud by Abuse of Position
Paul Jackson acted for the defence of a bank employee passing customers’ account details to others so that they could fraudulently impersonate those customers and obtain funds.
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R v. Khatri & ors [Snaresbrook] 2017
£550k Fraud by False Representation
Paul Jackson acted for the defence of female charged with defrauding others out of £550,000. The defendant, with another (co-defendant pleaded guilty), was alleged to have falsely represented to her friends that they had won £46.5 million gambling but required money to pay legal fees to release the funds. Defendant found not guilty. Instructed by Shaw Graham Kersch.
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R v. DC & ors [Birmingham] 2017
Mortgage Frauds
James Martin Trial and Retrial of allegations of large scale property frauds. Involved the intentional undervaluing of property in order to sell it on to others within the conspiracy at a discount. Case alleged a conspiracy between an inside man at Severn Trent Water and the other defendants. The property would be advertised and false bids were being submitted by others to enable a selling to one of the members of the conspiracy at a substantial discount. Instructed by Blackfords LLP.
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R v H & ors [Guildford] 2017
£325,000 Invoicing Fraud
Aska represented the third defendant as junior alone in a six-handed trial where the first defendant was represented by silk and junior, and the second defendant was represented by two juniors. Aska’s client was charged with three counts of participating in fraud by abuse of position with other family members totalling c£300,000. The trial required analysis of substantial financial evidence covering numerous bank accounts. After a six-week trial, Aska’s client was the only defendant to be acquitted of any count and ultimately received a suspended sentence. Instructed by Sternberg Reed.
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Operation Boldo [I.L.C.C.] 2017
Horsemeat Fraud
Jonathan Polnay was lead Counsel for the Crown in this multi-handed and much publicised conspiracy involving three prominant businessman passing off horsemeat as 100% pure beef.
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R v P [Basildon Crown Court] 2017
Benefit Fraud
Aska Fujita represented a defendant charged with benefit fraud, spanning over 12 years, amounting to over £120,000. After negotiations with the prosecution, a plea on a basis was agreed, resulting in a suspended sentence. Instructed by Sternberg Reed.
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R v. D,M,M [Maidstone] 2017
Carbon Credit Fraud
Edmund Fowler was instructed for the Crown in this successful prosecution of 3 individuals for a complex multi-million £ carbon credit scam. The defendants were represented by Queen's Counsel.
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In the matter of L [Bristol] 2017
Wife of a convicted company director securing her third party rights to a significant share of the marital home and pension
Natasha Wong QC acted for wife of a convicted company director securing her third party rights to a significant share of the marital home and pension. Instructed by LP Evans
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R v S Roberts [Guildford] 2017
Vulnerable woman in very poor health accused of laundering proceeds of crime through various bank accounts
Natasha Wong QC was trial Counsel of vulnerable woman in very poor health accused of laundering proceeds of crime through various bank accounts, with confiscation proceedings. Instructed by Duncan Lewis
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R v. I [Huntingdon] 2017
Conspiracy to obtain criminal property
Paul Walker led Jonathan Reuben in this complex conspiracy to obtain criminal property. A £300,000 fraud with similarities to the film ‘Catch me if you can’.
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R v. Oorloff & Dickinson [Guildford] 2016
£2m 'Rare Earth Metal' Fraud
Jonathan Polnay led Ben Holt in this “boiler room” rare earth metals fraud. Both Defendants were convicted after trial of selling worthless Rare Earth Metals as part of an investment. The total value of the scam was £1.9m. Both defendants were convicted and sentenced to a total of 11 years’ imprisonment. Instructed by CPS Headquarters Central Fraud Group.
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Operation Volmar [Croydon] 2016
Conspiracies to Facilitate illegal entry
Irshad Sheikh defended in this substantial conspiracy to obtain vast sums from local authorities and individuals through carers recruited in breach of immigration law and the consequent laundering of the criminal proceeds . Instructed by EBR Attridge.
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R v. Y 2016
Fraud by false representation
Hannah Wyatt defended a fraud by false representation case. Successful application to dismiss.
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R v. Dinsmore [St Albans] 2016
Money Laundering
James Martin instructed as junior alone. Case involved allegations surrounding the proceeds of a complex Fraud taking place in Europe. Various sham companies were offering clients jobs as high end companions for the wealthy. Another aspect of the fraud was a production company offering roles in Pornographic films. Both were shams and the money taken upfront from those involved was being syphoned to the UK.
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Operation Canon [Southwark] 2016
£80m Ponzi Scheme
Sarah Forshaw QC, instructed by the SFO, successfully prosecuted this £80m "Ponzi" scheme. The defendants purported to be a successful supplier of electrical goods such as light bulbs, air conditioning units, trouser presses and televisions to major hotel chains such as the Marriott and Hilton. They also falsely claimed to be the preferred supplier of the Olympic village, ahead of the 2012 Games.
https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2016/05/24/ponzi-fraudsters-sentenced-total-21-years/
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R v. Pandit [Blackfriars] 2016
£1.44m Payroll Fraud
Rishi Nathwani represented payroll clerk who was charged with stealing £1.44 million from his employer, the charity Marie Stopes International. Instructed by Bark & Co.
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R v. A & anr [Wood Green] 2016
Conspiracy to fraudulently obtain mobile phone upgrades
Senghin Kong instructed to prosecute two defendants charged with a conspiracy to obtain fraudulently mobile phone upgrades. The loss to the mobile phone company was in excess of £40,000 as a result of offending over a 2 year period. Instructed by CPS London.
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R v. C & ors [Kingston] 2016
Post Office Fraud
Pieter Briegel defended in this 8 week trial of a Post Office worker, accused with 5 others of a complex high value fraud against his employers. Instructed by Thomas Boyd Whyte.
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R v. Davies & ors [Southwark] 2016
HMRC gift aid fraud
Christopher Sutton-Mattocks and Hannah Wyatt were instructed by the defence in this 3 month Southwark trial where the ring leader was accused of a £5 million pound cut-throat HMRC gift aid fraud. Due to unforeseen circumstances, Hannah Wyatt had to take over leading the case after the third week. This included legal argument, cross examination of co-defendants, including the defendant’s son and daughter and making the closing speech.
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In the matter of W [Woolwich] 2016
Sister of a convicted drug supplier securing her third party rights to extensive property
Natasha Wong QC acted for the sister of a convicted drug supplier securing her third party rights to extensive property. Instructed by LP Evans
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Operation Tineid [Blackfriars] 2015
Fraud
Catherine Farrelly led Ben Holt for the Crown. Defendants were charged with arranging co-defendants to take driving test on behalf of other people. NCA investigation, instructed by the Organised Crime Group at the CPS.
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R v. Jones [C.C.C.] 2015
£1.8m racehorse fraud
Jonathan Polnay appeared for the Crown in this Prosecution of City Banker for defrauding friends and colleagues of £1.8m in a false racehorse investment scheme.
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R v. Reza & 5 ors [Southwark] 2015
DWP Fraud
Robert Ellison defended in this complex and substantial benefit fraud based on over 16,000 pages of evidence. The client was profoundly deaf and without speech.
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R v. A & ors [C.C.C] 2015
Standing Order Fraud
Jonathan Polnay led Ben Holt for the Crown in a nine-handed standing order fraud that was set up and orchestrated by an inside man working with Nationwide bank. Case involved a considerable amount of forensic and banking evidence. (Investigated by DCPCU, instructed by CPS SCU). Jury were unable to reach a verdict on defendant said to be “inside man”. Prosecuted re-trial alone and the defendant was convicted. Mail Online news report.
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R v. M & M [Woolwich] 2015
NHS fraud
Ben Holt represented the husband of an NHS employee, in a prosecution brought by NHS Protect. The wife was alleged to have stolen £300,000 from her employer whilst working for the NHS. The husband was said to have acquired the criminal property. Significant quantity of evidence served (over 10,000 pages). Ben acted alone; other parties in the trial had two counsel. Hung jury. Evening Standard news report.
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R v. Heir & ors [Blackfriars] 2015
Money Laundering
Jonathan Higgs QC defended in a case involving an Indian national concerning a large-scale money laundering operation in the UK involving the passing of millions of pounds of UK banknotes to know drug dealers. The defendant was employed by the Sahara group and it was alleged that company was involved in the conspiracy. Instructed by EBR Attridge.
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R v. LM [Inner London] 2015
Housing fraud
Valeria Swift prosecuted as sole counsel in a case relating to a house rental fraud involving identification of money transfers to multiple bank accounts. Defendant found guilty – conviction upheld in Court of Appeal following full submissions.
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R v. Robbins & ors [C.C.C.] 2015
Mortgage Frauds
James Martin instructed as defence counsel in a multi-handed mortgage fraud conspiracy at the CCC. Allegations revolve around a company said to have been set up to provide mortgage to people from the criminal fraternity with no questions asked. The defendant was an employee of the company and is said to have benefitted from such a mortgage. Her husband was involved in money laundering and drug trafficking. Instructed by Thomas Boyd Whyte.
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R v. J & anr 2015
Fraudulent Trading
Senghin Kong represented a company director charged with fraudulent trading arising out of what the prosecution described as a “copycat website”. Initially the prosecution suggested the value of the fraud was £500,000. Following negotiation, a plea to breach of the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 was accepted and the defendant received, exceptionally, a conditional discharge. The defendant was also subject to a restraint order in these proceedings which the prosecution alleged she had breached in contempt proceedings which were withdrawn following negotiation. Instructed by Thomas Boyd Whyte Solicitors.
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R v. S & ors [C.C.C] 2014
Card fraud by ATM skimming
Catherine Pattison led Ben Holt for the prosecution in two separate sets of proceedings relating to Romanian nationals who were charged with card fraud by ATM “skimming”. This was sophisticated organised crime group who were making equipment to capture individuals’ bank account details when they inserted their cards into an ATM. A total of 13 defendants were charged with offences ranging from conspiracy to defraud, possessing articles for use in fraud and transferring criminal property. (Investigated by DCPCU, instructed by CPS SCU). Mirror Online news report.
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R v. O’Rahilly & ors [Southwark] 2014
£1m Conspiracy to defraud the DWP
Paul Jackson represented a male charged with conspiracy to defraud the DWP and various Boroughs of London between 04/05/88 and 16/04/14 of over £1million. The allegation was the defendant adopted numerous identities and then claimed benefits under those false identities for years.
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R v. Collier [Croydon] 2014
Fraud
James Martin appeared for Mr Collier who ran a large scrap yard for many years and was the subject of multiple police operations. At one stage an undercover officer was even deployed to his yard to pose as someone selling stolen cabling. He was accused of processing large amounts of stolen metal including stolen grave plaques and high voltage cable.
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R v. Flynn & 9 ors [Southwark] 2014
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a 7 Handed conspiracy to commit fraud and launder the proceeds. The fraud was completed with the help of an ‘inside man’. Money was being diverted from the Royal Marsden hospital which specialises in cancer treatment. A network of individuals were used to filter the money once it had been diverted from within the Trust itself.
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R v. Dennard & ors [Maidstone] 2014
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a multi-handed conspiracy to defraud a number of elderly householders and launder the proceeds. The case involves a number of victims over a considerable period.
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R v. Saunders & ors [Guildford] 2014
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a multi-handed conspiracy to defraud a number of elderly householders and launder the proceeds. The case involves a number of victims over a considerable period.
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R v. Smith & ors [Guildford] 2014
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a multi-handed conspiracy to defraud a number of elderly householders and launder the proceeds. The case involves a number of victims over a considerable period. Some of those victims have now dies and the Crown seek to rely upon their recorded testimony.
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R v. Hillier & ors [Croydon] 2014
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a multi-million pound money laundering operation. Hillier was said to be the central figure in the setting up and running of a counting house through which organised crime gangs would launder vast quantities of cash. The case involved a large amount of telephone data and observation evidence.
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R v. Iqbal & 18 ors [Southwark] 2014
Banking & Credit Fraud
Robert Ellison led Jonathan Polnay for the Prosecution in this 19 defendant Credit and banking fraud with many thousands of pages of served and unused evidence. A conspiracy to defraud creditors and ‘Acquiring Companies’ by abusing technical weaknesses in the ‘chip and PIN’ payment process. The fraud was so complex that the trial judge described the methodology and money laundering as an ‘impenetrable scheme’.
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Operation Steamroller [Southwark] 2014
£70m Spanish "Boiler" Room operation
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R v. A & ors 2014
Mortgage Fraud and Cheating the Revenue
Senghin Kong advised a company in relation to possible liability for bribery / corruption offences arising out of conduct which was the subject of civil proceedings. Instructed by Bark & Co Solicitors.
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R v Rezza [Southwark] 2014
Doctor on trial for conspiracy to defraud £800,000 from the DWP
Natasha Wong QC was trial counsel for a doctor on trial with his non hearing/speaking mother, sister, and 4 sign language interpreters for conspiracy to claim £800,000 from the DWP by falsely claiming they received and provided sign language interpretation and creating false paperwork to support claims. Instructed by Freemans Solicitors.
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R v. Bates & ors [Maidstone] 2014
£2m "Ponzi Scheme" Fraud
Mark Dacey defended, a complex and large scale, Ponzi scheme fraud. Instructed by Berry & Lamberts.
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R v. Oakley & ors [Birmingham] 2014
£34m V.A.T Fraud
Mark Dacey defended in this large scale V.A.T fraud. Instructed by Goldkorns.
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Operation Cent [C.C.C.] 2013
Anti-corruption unit worldwide investigation re: bomb detection units
Jonathan Higgs QC leading Jonathan Polnay represented a defendant in the much publicised Old Bailey trial involving the worldwide sale of "fake" bomb detection devices. Instructed by Gary Bloxsome of Blackfords LLP.
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R v. O’Reilly & ors [Reading] 2013
Fraud
James Martin was Junior alone in a multi-handed conspiracy to import and distribute multi-million pound loads of cigarettes and hand-rolling tobacco. Evidence comes from substantial probe material in addition to undercover observations and seizures from warehouse found by HMRC.
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Council of Lloyds v J [Lloyds Enforcement Tribunal] 2013
Underwriter in misconduct proceedings connected with losses of £235m
Natasha Wong QC was Junior Counsel for an underwriter in misconduct proceedings connected with losses of £235m ultimately settled before the Lloyd’s Enforcement Tribunal in its regulatory capacity Instructed by Withers Worldwide
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R v C B [Wood Green] 2013
Company director accused of fraudulent concealment of, and trading in shares worth £4.5 million
Natasha Wong QC was trial counsel for acquitted company director accused of fraudulent concealment of, and trading in shares worth £4.5 million, at a time when he was allegedly insolvent. Proceedings brought by Department of Business, Innovation and Skills. Instructed by Paul Martin & Co
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Operation Castle [Maidstone] 2012
Fraud
James Martin was junior alone in this Multi-handed case involving a conspiracy to steal high value cars to order. Gang were operating in Kent, targeting mainly BMW M3s, disabling the tracking devices and then breaking up the cars and selling on the parts. Involves allegations of money laundering associated with the disposal of the criminally obtained funds.
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Operation Vara 2012
Fraud
James Martin was a led junior, successfully defending a man over a 2 year period, accused of evasion of import Duty and VAT on Gold Jewellery. Over £8million evasion involving an international investigation which moved from the UK, to Europe, India and Dubai. This was a case involving a conspiracy to evade import duty and VAT payable on the importation of gold jewellery. In total over £8 million was said to have been evaded. Mr Martin was led in this case and represented a defendant accused of being one of the men responsible for importing the gold Jewellery from Dubai into Frankfurt. The fraud involved the handover of the gold to another member of the conspiracy who would then import into the UK passing off the import as intra-EU trade and therefore VAT exempt. Some of these activities were observed by a covert intelligence unit of the German Police. The case involved complex VAT legal questions as well as Jurisdictional issues.
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R v. D & ors 2012
£58 million VAT Diversion fraud
Anthony Orchard QC defended in this complex and long running multi-handed conspiracy against HMRC.
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R v. H & ors 2012
£38m International Carbon Trading VAT fraud.
Anthony Orchard QC defended in this £38 million international carbon Trading VAT fraud.
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R v. V & ors [Southwark] 2011
Boiler Room Fraud
Robert Ellison defended in this "Boiler Room" high pressure, share-pushing operation from call centres in Spain. Around 1,250 investors in the UK were persuaded to buy over £7 million worth of shares. Using their "Gordon Gekko" contract notes to complete the transactions. POCA proceedings involved assets totalling £4.5m.
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R v. H & ors [Croydon] 2011
Tax Fraud
Irshad Sheikh was instructed as the lead advocate in this multimillion pound cheat on the public revenue in a VHCC (‘Very High Cost Case’) involving the service of over 80,000 pages – allegation of cheating the public revenue by creating and submitting false tax returns and thereby dishonestly obtaining tax repayments from HMRC. Regarded as a protracted, substantial, and serious attack on the United Kingdom income tax system.
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Operation Slick [Southwark] 2011
£27m Boiler Room Fraud
Anthony Orchard QC defended in this £27 million boiler room fraud.
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R v. Salami & ors [Southwark] 2011
"o2" Mobile Phone Fraud
Anthony Orchard QC defended in this £4 million international mobile phone fraud perpertrated upon O2.
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HMRC v Peter Storrie [Southwark] 2011
Former chief executive of Portsmouth City Football Club accused of cheating the public revenue
Natasha Wong QC was junior trial counsel for acquitted former chief executive of Portsmouth City Football Club accused of cheating the public revenue. Instructed by Paul Martin & Co.
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R v. Roope & ors [Worcester] 2010
£2m Investment Fraud
Anthony Orchard QC defended in this £2m SFO investment scam.
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Operation Tangelo 2 2010
Alchohol Diversion Fraud
Alcohol diversion fraud. Highly complex, involving a large network of traders. Part 2 involved the setting up of a ‘fraudsters’ bank’.
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R v. B & ors [Cardiff] 2009
Credit Card Fraud
Irshad Sheikh was Lead counsel in substantial fraud on credit card companies (VHCC). – allegation of the cloning and use of credit cards and the obtaining of goods and services on a massive scale.Instructed by Eversheds LLP.
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R v. C & ors [Croydon] 2009
£3m "Hawala" Banking Fraud
Andrew Collings was leading counsel for the defence in this long running and complex money laundering case involving the complexities of Hawala Banking as a purported defence to the £3,000,000 operation. Instructed by Alexander Johnson Solicitors.
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R v. Rasalla & ors [Northampton] 2009
Construction Fraud
Martin Hooper was leading defence counsel in this building / construction fraud. As well as complex factual and technical issues there were substantial hearings about restraint of assets and confiscation proceedings.
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Operation Devout [Birmingham] 2009
£82m Missing Trader Fraud
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R v. Geir & ors [Croydon] 2008
VAT Fraud
Martin Hooper successfully defended in this multi-handed and sophisticated VAT fraud which centred around ‘celebrity chefs’ such as Marco Pierre-white
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R v. M & ors [Winchester] 2007
Bank Fraud
Irshad Sheikh was instructed as the Leading junior in this Conspiracy to defraud the National Westminster Bank plc – a case involving identity theft and the compromising of bank accounts on a wide and substantial basis.
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R v. H & ors [Southwark] 2005
Royal Mail Fraud
Irshad Sheikh was Lead counsel in this Multi-handed mail dumping VHCC fraud –widely reported case involving a company that made millions of pounds by dumping letters and parcels that it was paid to deliver by Royal Mail. Among the 360,000 items that were binned were hospital blood test results, university acceptance letters and charity mail.
