R v. N - Preston Crown Court.
A simple fraud involving data registration caused by the requirement to register with the information commissioners office. Data controllers made complaints that data registrations had not been completed and funds had been paid for this service. The fraud was perpetrated by the use of some umbrella companies to ensure that the funds received could not be traced and used to acquire properties.
The defendant in his instructions maintained that this was a situation where he had fully intended to register the businesses. However, he was facing problems with his property portfolio and was using the money to prop up his construction and property development projects.
It was alleged that during the time the fraud was perpetrated the defendant had written to more than 1 million businesses generating huge returns. The prosecution asserted that the defendant's benefit was more than £3 million.
The defendant was charged with a conspiracy and had maintained that he had never actually set out to defraud anyone. The prosecution were persuaded to drop the conspiracy and instead to accept that the defendant had "mismanaged" the money and had dealt with it in a way where he had no authority to do so. The outcome suited all parties.
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