DBS Internet Fraud | Kangs Trading Standards Solicitors
A man who set-up and ran a fraudulent company purporting to provide Disclosure and Barring Service checks (‘DBS checks’) has been sentenced to five years imprisonment.
Steven Micklewright of Kangs Solicitors sets out the circumstances.
The Circumstances| Kangs Financial Crime & Fraud Solicitors
The man set-up a number of websites purporting to provide DBS checks for job seekers who had been advised they had been successful in their job application, but that the job offer was conditional upon a successful DBS check being conducted.
The Fraud operated by advertising vacancies for genuine employers on well-known recruitment websites.
In reality, the advertised jobs did not exist and the victims were fraudulently deprived of amounts of between seventy and one hundred pounds for each alleged DBS check.
The defendant pleaded guilty to charges under:
- 9 Fraud Act 2006,
- 993 Companies Act 2006,
- 328 Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The Law | Fraud Act Solicitors
Section 9 of the Fraud Act 2006 states:
‘a person is guilty of an offence if he is knowingly a party to the carrying on of a business…with the intent to defraud creditors’
Section 993 of the Companies Act 2006 (Fraudulent Trading) states:
‘If any business of a company is carried on with intent to defraud creditors of the company or creditors of any other person, or for any fraudulent purpose, every person who is knowingly a party to the carrying on of the business in that manner commits an offence’
Section 328 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (Money Laundering) states:
‘A person commits an offence if he enters into or becomes concerned in an arrangement which he knows or suspects facilitates (by whatever means) the acquisition, retention, use or control of criminal property by or on behalf of another person’
The Hearing | Solicitors For Trading Standards Prosecutions
The Court heard how the fraud netted the defendant in excess of £100,000 and had a devastating impact on many of the victims.
In sentencing, the Judge at York Crown Court said:
‘This was a sophisticated internet based fraud…you took everything your victims had and there were a large number of victims. It was obvious this was not the limit of your fraudulent intentions. It was only stopped by the disruption of the investigation’
Chair of the National Trading Standards said;
‘This was a cruel fraud…that targeted people who were looking to improve their career opportunities’
The man was:
- sentenced to a total of five years and ten months,
- further sentenced to three years for money laundering
- ordered to pay over £3,000 in compensation
- disqualified from acting as a company director for ten years.
How Can We Help? | Kangs Trading Standards Solicitors
Kangs Solicitors have a wealth of knowledge and experience in defending alleged financial crimes of all nature including those prosecuted by Trading Standards.
Our team is led by Hamraj Kang who is recognised by the law directories Chambers UK and Legal 500 as a leading solicitor in this area of law.
Our specialist lawyers are able to provide advice and assistance throughout the entire criminal process, from the initial intervention by trading standards through to enforcement, interview under caution and ultimately the defence of any ensuing criminal prosecution.
Who Can I Contact For Help? | Kangs Criminal Defence Lawyers
Please feel free to contact our team through any of the solicitors named below who will be happy to provide you with some initial advice and assistance.
Hamraj Kang
hkang@kangssolicitors.co.uk
07976 258171 | 020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
John Veale
jveale@kangssolicitors.co.uk
020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
Suki Randhawa
srandhawa@kangssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396
Timothy Thompson
tthompson@kangssolicitors.co.uk
020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
