31 May - Man Jailed For 3 ½ Years For Investment Scam - Alfred Renouf was sentenced by Jersey’s Royal Court to 3 ½ years after taking £179,000 from 15 colleagues and friends to invest in a quality car scheme. In fact he just spent the money.

31 May - Meat Scam Trader is Cleared - Clive Boid of Oldcotes who was convicted of conspiracy to defraud by Hull Crown Court (see past news column article), has been cleared and freed. Boid had been accused of selling chicken and turkey that should have been used as pet food as premium meat to butchers and supermarkets. It was found that the conviction was unsafe due to flaws in the jury process.

Comment: It should be noted that Boid’s son Andrew’s sentence was cut from 8-years to 7-years. Darren Bibby lost his challenge, while Peter Tantrum had his sentence reduced from 7 to 6-years. John McGinty had his sentenced reduced from 5 to 4-years and Arnold Smith has his sentence from 3 ½ to 3 years.

31 May - Mum in DSS Fraud for Addict Son - Ann Stockton of Tuebrook Liverpool, was jailed for 9-months after pleading guilty at Liverpool Crown Court of £22,177 Benefit Fraud. Stockton mitigated that exceptional circumstances caused her to defraud the Benefit Agency as she spent most of the money on her eldest son’s heroin addiction. Stockton started to claim legitimately in 1990 but in 1995 she and her boyfriend, a fully employed teacher, started living together. Stockton had two part-time jobs, one of which was a cleaner for Liverpool City Council.

Comment: Perhaps we should take heart from the words of Judge Elizabeth Steel who said "It gives me no pleasure to impose an inevitable prison sentence on you. That is the only sentence consistent with my public duty and properly reflects your conduct."

30 May - Fax Scam Alert - Hoteliers in Stirling are being warned of unsolicited faxes asking quotations for accommodation. Trading Standards are warning that some of these faxes are requesting the information to be returned to premium rate telephone numbers.

Comment: Just like the many-headed hydra as one Joe Allen of Web World Comm, gets beheaded another springs up to take its place.

30 May - Phone Scam Students Set To Pay Bills - Students at Edinburgh’s Napier University college have agreed to repay the £100,000 of telephone bills for using a "secret" code to obtain free calls at their halls of residence. The students rang overseas numbers, sex lines and telephone psychics.

29 May - Director Fined For Fax Scam - Joe Allen of Liverpool based Web World Comms and Protoria Communications has been fined and banned for a year from working in the industry. The action against Allen by telephone watchdog ICSTIS follows a number of fax-back scams which was perpetrated by Allen against Hoteliers across the UK (see past news article). The hotel owners were asked to fax information to Web World Comms without being told that the telephone number was a £1 per minute high-premium number. The company was fined £5,000.

27 May - Fraud Squad Probe £35m Dome Contracts - Scotland Yard Fraud detectives are investigating fresh allegations of fraud over millennium dome contracts. The investigation has lasted 8 months so far, and the new allegations threaten to place another unwanted black cloud over the government

25 May - Creswell Councillor is Cleared of Fraud - Duncan McGregor, the Creswell councillor, accused of expenses fraud has been cleared of any misconduct by the police and the parish council.

25 May - Jaywick Man Cleared - Richard Gibbons, of Jaywick near Clacton, has been found innocent of charges of £3.6k housing benefit fraud.

Comment: Gibbons had been accused of deliberately withholding the fact that his wife was working. However, he was by the courts because he thought that people could work for 16 hours a week without having to report the fact. It raises a lot of questions – what did it say on the claim form and what did he say in the interview? This probably highlights the risks to councils who rush into prosecutions in order to take advantage of the new incentives.

25 May - NHS Doctor Jailed - Dimitri Padelis, the doctor who is probably the NHS’s biggest fraudster, has been jailed for 4-years.

25 May - R v G (Autrefois Acquit) - Where the prosecution offered no evidence against a defendant and a verdict of not guilty was recorded, the prosecution could not proceed against the defendant on a charge alleging a more serious offence, based on the same facts, because the defendant was entitled to rely on the defence of autrefois acquit. For full details see the Times Law Report.

25 May - Travel Agent Jailed - Francis Young, of Barnet, who made up bogus travel agent clients so that -he could steal £450k in foreign currency from his company, Mona Travel, and the travel company Thomas Cook, has been jailed for 2-years by Chester Crown Court.

24 May - Fraudster Confess to Excise Duty Fraud - Graeme Miller, of Hawick, over a period of 12 months defrauded the Revenue of £1,082 of excise duty on drink and tobacco. Sentencing by Jedburgh Court next month.

23 May - "Goldfinger" Jailed - John "Goldfinger" Palmer, the time-share con king, has been jailed for 8-years.

23 May - Match-Fixing Probe Condemns Cricket Corruption - The International Cricket Council (ACU) published its report on match-fixing. The investigation which was lead by Paul Condon, former head of London’s Met Police, paints a depressing picture of fraud and corruption. However, Lord Condon believes that the worst of the corruption and match fixing is over, even though it was still going on during the investigation

Comment: Of course it has. Sheesh!

22 May - Prison For Housing Benefit Fraudster - Ian Saunders, of Southbourne, has been jailed for 12-months for committing housing benefit fraud against Bournemouth City Council and a further 9-months for mortgage fraud. Saunders, a local landlord, falsely claimed housing benefit for five years for tenants at his property, whilst at the same time claiming IS mortgage relief on the same property. The fraud came to light when Saunders applied for a mortgage and claimed that he was working. He supplied false documents to support his claim. This information was supplied to the National Anti-Fraud Network who passed on the information to Bournemouth Council.

Comment: The very reason why councils should join NAFN.

21 May - Britons Tried in Paris For Holiday Home Scam - Scott and Steven Miller, along with eight French assistants, have been accused by prosecutors in Paris of conning 2,700 holidaymakers through breach of trust and false advertising.

Comment: This is the usual time-share scam but a lá Français.

21 May - Royal Sun Alliance – Insurance Fraud - Research conducted by the insurance giant Royal and Sun Alliance has shown that 76% of people believe that fraud is widespread amongst those making home insurance claims. 33% thought that it was reasonable to inflate claims as they thought that premiums were overpriced and that payouts were under priced. Insurance fraud runs at about £650m per year. Meanwhile CIFAS has shown that insurance fraud has risen by 45% over the last year. Identity fraud has increased by 262% and 500% on the year before. Fraud prevention has risen by 38%. CIFAS has saved its members £203m – its highest figures in a single year to date.

Comment: The RSA are planning to increase the number of fraud investigators and expand on the Hunter data matching system that is the core of CIFAS. The investigators will have to be trained in the use of IUCs and prosecutions. In an age where we, in the public sector, are frequently told how efficient the private sector is and how it is on the cutting edge of technology, it is interesting that local authorities have done more work in this field and are better trained and have more skills than our private sector counterparts. False identity fraud is becoming the major fraud issue in the UK which has weaker laws on the identification of individuals than other EU states, where identity cards are routinely carried and used to confirm identity.

21 May - Scam of the Week - This week we have seen the return of the Nigerian money laundering scam which is back with a vengeance. This time the fraudsters are using email rather than fax and these have been received by organisations and individuals right across the country. If you receive such an email forward it to mg@malcolmgardner.co.uk and we will put it on our special warnings page.

Comment: E-mails have been received by Law Zone and by companies in Worcester and Northern Ireland.

19 May - Tricksters Con OAPs in Tree Surgeon Fraud - OAPs in Cambridge have been tricked out of savings by a pair of con men, travelling around the area posing as tree surgeons and using signs stolen from a reputable firm. The pair carried out sub standard work at exorbitant rates. Cambridge residents are warned to look out for a white transit van R656CTG carrying the stolen "Cambridge Tree Surgery" sign.

18 May - Meat Scam Duo Set to Appeal - Andrew Boyd, of Carlton, and Darren Bibby, of Oldcotes, were jailed last year, following an investigation by Trading Standards officers into the fraudulent sale of poultry unfit for human consumption. Both men are to appeal against their seven and three year, respectively, sentences.

18 May - Timeshare King Guilty - John Palmer, of Bath, has been found guilty of fraud for his part in a massive Tenerife timeshare scam. Palmer’s girlfriend, Christine Ketley of Brentwood, has also been convicted on two counts of conspiracy to defraud. Palmer is to be sentenced next week whilst Ketley will not be sentenced until July. The trial lasted seven-months and the jury took 21days to reach a verdict – one of the Old Bailey’s longest deliberations. The jury still hasn’t come to a conclusion concerning Palmer’s nephew Andrew Palmer. The fraud was undertaken by using complex, misleading paperwork and a confusing network of companies.

17 May - Deception Admitted - William Smith, of Blackburn, admitted to eleven charges of fraud, including the theft of several credit cards. Sentence will be announced in a couple of weeks time.

17 May -Ex-Hackney Chief Wins Racism Appeal - A High Court judge has quashed the charges of racism against Hackney’s Former Director of Housing, Bernard Crofton. Crofton had been accused of racial discrimination against Hackney’s former head of personnel, Sam Yeboah, when Crofton had linked Yeboah to a huge West-African housing benefit fraud. An employment tribunal awarded Yeboah £380k when it ruled that Crofton had falsely made the claim. Mr Justice Burton criticised the tribunal’s conclusion as "perverse". Yeboah has been given leave for a re-hearing.

17 May - Probation For Rail Ticket Fraudster - William Campbell, of Bellsmyre, Dunbarton, paid for his rail tickets with stolen cheques and as a result was placed on probation for 18-months.

17 May - Specialist Carpeted Over Fraud Charges - Orthodontist, Edwina Wingfield Zacharias, who was prosecuted earlier this year for defrauding the NHS out of £3k for non-existent work, appeared before the General Dental Council’s conduct committee. Zacharias, who is already undertaking 240 hours community service, has not been struck-off or suspended.

16 May - Bank Clerk Accused of Fraud - Meline Rees, a customer accounts manager earning £14K pa at the Ammanford branch of Lloyds TSB, had an extravagant life style which was thought to be the result of a lottery win. In reality Rees had used the bank's computer system to open accounts and make loans to fake customers, allegedly stationed at RAF bases abroad. The fraud amounted nearly £184k. Rees denies all and the case continues.

Comment: A fairly straightforward scam where Ikea paid bogus invoices to a number of fake companies. The SFO are investigating and it is believed that the locations range through Cornwall, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire and Bedfordshire with links to Europe and the USA.

16 May - Pensioner Warns of Lottery Scam - Mary Martin, a Liverpool pensioner, has warned us of a lottery scam. Mary received a letter telling her that she had won £1m in the Australian lottery. The letter, from Worldwide Winners Search Centre, said that they would end her the cash prize in an unmarked suitcase within three days. All Mary had to do was to send £14 administration costs via her credit card. A form was given so that the credit card details could be filled in. Phil Saddler, Liverpool Trading Standards officer, said, "The most important thing to remember when people receive junk mail is that they should never give their credit card details to traders with whom they have never dealt."

16 May - Tax Fraudster Jailed - John "Jim" Foggon of Swinton has been jailed for two years for tax fraud. The chairman of Vaclensa Plc pleaded guilty to defrauding the Inland Revenue by hiding £1m in a secret account. A co-defendant Jennifer Spencer has pleaded not guilty and will appear in court in January 2002.

16 May - Welsh Deputy Frights Fraud Claims - Mike German, the Deputy First Minister of Wales, is fielding criticism over an auditor’s report into the Welsh Education European Unit of which German was head. The report criticises the supply of inaccurate information and German’s "unusual" routes for business trips.

14 May - National Audit Office - is publishing a report that finds fraud and errors caused losses of £400 million in benefits paid from the National Insurance Fund in 1999/2000.

14 May - Benefit Fraudsters Caught - A busy week for Bexley Council and the Benefits Agency. Following a joint operation, the two organisations discovered that two employees of Centaur Overland Travel were claiming and earning. As a result Michael & Mavis Inman, of Bexleyheath, who had fraudulently claimed £1348, were each given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £225 in costs. The second employee, Sheila Payne, of Belvedere, who defrauded the council of £2367 was also given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £250 costs. In the meantime the HBMS data matching exercise discovered that Rose Watson, of Crayford, had not been declaring her WFTC to the council. As a result Watson was ordered to undertake 60-hours community service and pay £250 costs. Caroline Thompson, of Sidcup, was discovered the same way – although this time claiming and earning. Thompson was ordered to undertake 80-hours community service and to pay £100 costs. In a separate data matching exercise Olunfunmito Odupitan, of Thamesmead, supplied fake payslips showing that she only worked 16 hours for a staff agency but in fact she was really working full time for WH Smiths. Odupitan claimed £5817 fraudulently and was ordered to undertake 120-hours community service and pay £200 costs.

Comment: Well done Bexley. It is worth other councils noting that this little lot was worth £18,000 in additional subsidy to the Bexley Council.

14 May - Boss in Scam to Rip off Elderly - Steven Rudd and three of his salesmen at Gateshead’s Global Seal Home Improvements have pleaded guilty to a number of deception charges, relating to £30k obtained from pensioners who had been conned into having work done on their homes. Rudd from Washington, Garry and Kevin Donoghue, of Sunderland, and Albert Jones, of Gateshead, are to be sentenced on 25 June by Newcastle Crown Court.

14 May - Social Security Fraud Bill Gets Royal Assent - The Social Security Fraud Bill becomes law and gives authorised benefit officers the power to obtain information about suspected fraudsters from both public and private bodies. The Act also gives authorities the power to reduce benefit for those who have already been convicted of the same offence over a three-year period. Information can now be exchanged with welfare benefit agencies in other countries. The financial penalty scheme is extended to collusive employers.

Comment: About time. What happened to Frank Field’s amendment to the bill to force the DSS to join Cifas?

12 May - Driver Offered A Bribe - Greg Harris an employee of a wheel clamping company, Midland Parking, offered Sally Findon a £80 refund of her release charge if she did not make statements against Andrew Minshull, the clamping company’s boss, over alleged threatening behaviour. Harris of Redditch admitted to perverting the course of justice and has been remanded on bail pending reports.

12 May - Jailed Duo Took Part in £50k Fraud Plot - Ashley Prescott aka "The Bookman" and Matthew Cox aka "The Bagman", obtained goods using cheque books and credit cards stolen by Cox and then returning the goods at another branch of the same retail company in another town for cash. The fraud netted £50k over 10-months. Both men have been jailed at Worcester Crown Court.

11 May - Labour of Love Was A Swindle - Fiona Walsh of Croydon has been convicted of a fraud where she swindled people out of £100 by pretending that she needed the money for fares to rush her pregnant sister to hospital. At least 7 people gave £10-£20 to Walsh. Walsh now has been in police custody since she was arrested by police on 20 March 2001. She will be sentenced on 30 May.

Comment: If Walsh had defrauded the benefits system of £100 I bet she would not have been held in police custody for a month.

11 May - Lanarkshire finds 67 Ghost Pupils - South Lanarkshire Auditors have discovered 67 "ghost" pupils at Stonelaw High School. A report has been given to the Education Department and a second investigation will take place later this year.

11 May - R v Greater Belfast Coroner, Ex-parte Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission - The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission did not have power to intervene as an interested party, or to act as an amicus curiae in legal proceedings. For full details see the Times Law Report.

10 May - Embezzler Ordered to Repay £33k - Thomas Berwick of Edinburgh, who defrauded his employer Scottish Equitable of more than £33k had his plea of "not guilty" accepted by the Crown. Scottish Equitable was prepared to accept that the missing money was beyond their reach and they have taken civil action against him. The Sheriff, Mhairi Stephen said that there was enough circumstantial evidence to show that Berwick, a former company clerk, had defrauded his former employer and ordered Berwick to repay the money.

Comment: Two points with this case. It shows that despite a criminal case succeeding because there was not enough evidence to prove the case "beyond reasonable doubt" that it can be worth pursuing the action through the civil court. A lesson here for councils, who could pursue the overpayment through the civil courts even if they do not have enough evidence for prosecution or other remedial action. The second point is that Berwick is now unemployed and Edinburgh City Council and/or the Benefit Agency ought to checking any claims to see what he put down in capital. Although he has to repay the money to Scottish Equitable he should still have declared it on his claim forms.

10 May - Counterfeit Trade Hidden in a Council House - David McAlonan who used two council houses on a run-down Lanarkshire council estate in Bellshill to hide his counterfeit clothes operation, was jailed for 18-months. Trading Standards discovered the fraud purely by chance following a delivery of 35,000 fake labels from Turkey being delivered to the wrong address.

Comment: McAlonan known as the"Fakemaster" has only just come out of jail for his part in the international counterfeit clothing scam "Operation Frequent Flyer"

10 May - Ex-Partners Face Fraud Charges - Neil Haigh, a senior NHS manager, from Ashton-under-Lyne and his former domestic partner Jeanette Rooney, of Birkdale, Southport are in court charged with fraud relating to an award of a computer contract worth £113k. The case is adjourned.

10 May - Exeter Woman Says She Will Never Give to Charity Again - An elderly woman says that she will never give money to charity again following being defrauded of £100. The woman gave the money to a charity claiming to helping children in Africa. The woman sent the money to an address on a letter that she received claiming to be from a schoolgirl in Africa. The pensioner’s signature was reproduced and the fraudsters tried to steal a further £1,850 from the woman’s bank account. Detective’s warn that thousands of letters claiming to be from a 17 year-old Ugandan orphan girl have been sent to addresses in the Devon area. Anyone who receives one of the letters should, call the police immediately on 08705 777444.

10 May - Fraud PCs Are Sacked - The three Guernsey police officers, Anthony Donnelly, Robin Hannah and Ross LeBail have been dismissed by the state police following an internal disciplinary hearing. The three officers had been found guilty last month of defrauding an insurance company of £18k

10 May - Counterfeit Clothes Couple Convicted - Angela and George Malde of Minehead were convicted of 18 Trading Standards offences and were ordered to pay £57.5k and a further £11.5k in costs and fines. The Maldes had supplied outlets all over the country.

Comment: It is interesting to see how Trading Standards and councils can work together to enforce offence cases like this. Benefit inspectors could learn a lot from our colleagues. In this case Trading Standard officers visited a shop in Ilfracombe, Hunter Leisurewear. The officers bought labelled items, which the owner was selling in good faith. They turned out to be fakes and the owner of the shop revealed the supplier to be Angela Malde. This resulted in a national investigation that closed down the £200k operation.

10 May - Cull Soldier Alledges Cash Scam - Brigadier Alex Birtwistle has warned that farmers "are still transferring sheep illegally, and that there is strong anecdotal evidence to suggest that this is the case." Birtwistle told BBC 1 in the programme "Brigadier Bertie’s Last Stand" that he thinks farmers could be moving sheep either to infect them to get the compensation or to save them from being culled.

Comment: Was it not only last month that the Times reported similar comments from another senior Army officer and didn’t the Army dismiss the comments as untrue. Certainly reports in the Irish Independent has shown that that investigations by the Guardi have shown that false papers and organised fraud is being practiced by farmers in both the Republic and Northern Ireland. (Interesting). Trading Standards have confirmed 500 cases of illegal animal movement investigations in Cumbria and so far 2 farmers have been convicted while six more are awaiting court dates.

9 May - Homes Raided in TV Scam Crackdown - NTL have raided homes in Salford and Swinton as part of a national crackdown on private apparatus that fraudulently accesses NTL cable services. The kit which is a small cube the size of a cigarette packet called "Baby J", "Phantom" or "Phoenix" is being sold on the black market at £80. FACT have warned that anyone found using such a box will face fines of £5k.

9 May - Jail For Driver in Petrol Scam - Christopher Fish of Kidderminster pleaded guilty to four charges of obtaining petrol by deception after being caught driving away from petrol stations without paying. He was jailed for four months. Fish was traced after he gave his name and address at one of the forecourts.

Comment: Hardly one of the world’s master criminals as Fish also admitted to driving without insurance or a licence. He was also in the illegal possession of a £10 wrap of heroin. Fish was banned for 2 years and had to repay the garages. Given that he had another 36 similar offences I would suggest that the local authority and the Benefit Agency should be checking their records to see what else the little rotter has also been up to.

9 May - Jail for Solicitor - William Moore a Birkenhead solicitor was jailed for 12 months following an investigation by Law Society auditors. Moore has defrauded his clients of £69k through false accounting and forgery. Moore said he was genuinely sorry and had only committed the offence while under financial pressure.

Comment: One of Moore’s victims was a young woman who had suffered sexual abuse at the hands of her stepfather. In the case against her father, the courts awarded her £18k. Her representative, Moore, told her that she had been awarded £6k. Moore kept the rest and no doubt charged her for his services on the top.

8 May - Police Suspect Racehorse Invite is Part of a Scam - Devon & Cornwall Police strongly suspect that invitations across Devon from an organisation called Cadogan Bloodstock Agency is a scam. The invitations invite people to invest in the company and send them money. However, the addresses on the invitation are usually for a bed & breakfast and contact is via a mobile phone number that is often disconnected within 24 hours. The current address is that of a private house and the owners are fed up with all the angry mail that they are receiving, as they know nothing of the swindle.

8 May - Schools Warned Over Charity Advert Scam - The National Anti-Fraud Network (NAFN) are warning schools not to sign up to advertising contracts with limited companies that claim that most of the money will go to charity. In fact this is not the case. Little or no money actually gets to any charity. Jeremy Frost of NAFN warns, "Strictly speaking this is not fraud, but it's an unethical way of selling their product. Trading standards have had many complaints, but the problem is that these companies are not doing anything illegal - so the advice to schools is not to sign up to an agreement unless they are quite sure it's valid,"

Comment: As reported in previous news items, schools are not the only ones targeted; but they are vulnerable as they are now in control of their own budgets and are sympathetic to charitable causes, especially those to do with children.

7 May - Phoney Airbag Scam on the Rise - According to Motoring UK 2.5m cars were written off last year; 1m of them were put back on the road. Some of them have airbags fitted but a growing number of motorists have discovered that their cars have been fitted with phoney airbags. Mechanics have filled the airbag spaces with peanut packaging, crisp bags, and beer cans.

Comment: The problem is that it is impossible to tell how many cars are in this state until it has an accident.

5 May - Cash Points Targeted - Fraudsters, who use a device to steal money from people’s bank accounts, are targeting ATMs in East Devon.

4 May - Creswell Councillor Target of Fraud Squad - Derbyshire police fraud officers are investigating Duncan McGregor, a Creswell Parish Councillor, after accusations of fraud relating to building interests. McGregor denies all and states that he is not worried by over the affair.

3 May - Robinson Guilty of Misleading - The Standards and Privileges Committee has found Geoffrey Robinson guilty of failing to inform the House and of misleading Parliament about financial dealings between himself the MP and that saint of Fraudster Robert Maxwell.

3 May - Lorry Drivers in Fraud Over Hours - William C Hockin Transport Ltd, of Barnstaple, has been ordered by Exeter Crown Court to make tougher checks on their drivers after 20 of them were fined a total of £20,000 for 192 counts of falsifying their Tachograph records.

3 May - IT No Benefit To Fraudsters - The NAO has actually given praise to the up-to-now heavily criticised £170m National Insurance Recording System (NIRS2). The NAO say that NIRS2 has contributed to reducing benefit fraud. The Revenue expect to clear the backlog of NI work by October 2001.

3 May - Fraud Charge Chef Jailed - Douglas Murphy, a chef from Hamilton, lead a double life after finding someone else's wallet. He used the identity details from the wallet to defraud the Benefits Agency and claim twice. The fraud started in 1995 but he has been on the run since being arrested and his first court appearance in 1998. Murphy, an alcoholic and drug user, defrauded the Benefits Agency of over £2.5k and was jailed for two-years.

3 May - Beattie v DSS - Periodic payments made under a structured settlement damages award came within the category of capital treated as income for the purposes of regulation 41 of the Income Support (General) Regulations (SI 1987 No 1967) and affected a claimant's entitlement to income support. For full details see the Times Law Report.

2 May - Fraud Case "Farce" Frustrates Juror - Following the fraud trial of Manjit and Jaswinder Singh (reported earlier in this column) a juror has written to the Herald complaining "I was a juror on that 'marathon' trial. My routine was disrupted for seven long and weary months. Now, I read that the trial was a complete farce. Why was this blunder by Customs and Excise not noticed at the onset of the trial?" (There was, in fact, a legal argument about the search warrants at the trial but the sheriff ruled that the warrants were lawful. Jurors would not have been aware of the arguments, which were conducted with without their presence). "Methinks this was a good money earner for all concerned, except for the jurors who only received their normal rate, or if they were unemployed, even less. The Singhs will probably go on to sue and get even more money than they were alleged to have suppressed. I felt that I had to convey my feelings about this. The law is an ass, truly and completely an absolute ass."

Comment: The trial ran for seven months, following a criminal investigation that lasted five years. The trail cost several thousands of pounds and at the end of it Manjit was jailed for 3 ½ years whilst Jaswinder received 150 hours community service for the fraudulent evasion of £167,700 of VAT on £1.25m worth of goods. The verdict was overthrown on appeal because 8 customs officers searched the Singh’s' properties instead of the 4 listed on the warrant. This was bad news all around – except for the Singhs

2 May - Keating Was "Well Involved" in £19m Swindle - Michael Keating, the former Lord Mayor of Dublin and junior minister in Garrett Fitzgerald's Government during the 1980's, has been accused of being implicational in Bernadatte Devine’s £19m tax evasion fraud. The Crown Court at Middlesex heard that Devine traded computer parts between Ireland and the UK but kept the £19m of VAT. Devine and a colleague O’Connell were sentenced to 8-years. It has been alleged that Keating, a director of O’Connell’s companies, was the other man mentioned by the prosecution during the trial.  Trial is likely to last another 6 weeks.

2 May - Housing Corporation Failed To Spot Corruption - PAC has condemned the Housing Corporation for failing to identify corruption in Focus, a West Midlands housing association, that it was monitoring. The Corporation was castigated for causing a six-month delay in the NAO's investigation of the matter. Two of Focus’ employees and a property developer were jailed for corruption in April 2000.

Comment: And these are the people who want to process housing benefit. According to the report the Corporation had received six tip-offs about that possible corruption might have been happening before they began investigating the matter.

2 May - POS Checks start in Scotland to Stop Fraud - From the beginning of May, NHS patients using optometrists in Scotland will be subjected to point of sale (POS) checks to stop fraud. Vouchers will be given to patients to help towards the cost of their visit and evidence will have to be given (basic VF) to prove their entitlement.

2 May - Ex-Revenue Officer Jailed for 3-Years - Southwark Crown Court has jailed former Revenue Officer, Chandrakant Patel, for 3 years for creating false tax repayment claims. He worked in collaboration with Kiran Karia and Dhanji Gorasia who both received the false repayments. They too who were jailed for 18-months and 12-months respectively.

Comment: There have been a number of these cases recently and I expect that the Revenue must be more than a little worried.