Local government agencies in the UK responsible for the allocation of benefits such as housing and income support have to make decisions based on the information they get from applicants. When that information is falsified or withheld, too often taxpayers’ money goes to recipients who are actually much better off financially than many who don’t […]
Category: Legal
Mobility scooter conman jailed
A so called businessman who preyed on the elderly and rarely delivered the mobility scooters they had ordered and paid for has been jailed. John Read, 53, from Prescot, Merseyside was found guilty of 27 separate charges of fraud and breach of the Consumer protection Act. The judge, upon hearing the verdict, had to postpone […]
Liability Pitfalls for Professionals
Professional indemnity insurance, also known as professional liability insurance, is a necessity in this present day corporate jungle. Even the most conscientious and meticulous professionals are prone to lawsuits and claims. Big concrete walls and strong shields are not the best protection against the irate customers or clients, legal representatives, bankers and others involved in […]
Long running fraudster’s luck finally runs out
Online scams are as ubiquitous as mosquitoes in a swamp; they pop up everywhere in various guises – some so obvious that only the most gullible could fall for them, some so devious and expertly constructed that even experienced scam-detectors can be convinced. The majority fall somewhere in between, directed at a specific segment of […]
Crime certainly didn’t pay for two police civilian workers on Merseyside
Sometimes crime really doesn’t pay much, and of course it pays even less if you’re caught. Two of Merseyside’s civilian police workers have been convicted of fraud by a Liverpool crown court, and though the fraud itself amounted to only about £8,500 collectively, the two men are paying a heavy price. 42-year-old Barry Sheils worked […]
eBay fraudster in court over fake stamps and labels
eBay trader, Samantha Keen, from Ipswich pleaded guilty to two charges of fraud by false representation this week after it was discovered that she had created fraudulent postage labels for many of the goods that she mailed out to customers. The first offence is known to have happened between August 1, 2011 and October of […]
British hacker jailed for 5 years
Nicholas Webber, aged 21, is one of the most well known computer hackers in Britain after being placed in jail for five years following a multi-million-pound internet scheme that he set up online. He is now in the news again after hacking into a computer system at the prison while still incarcerated, because he was […]
Waitrose manager steals items from work then sells them on eBay
Martin Foley, a manager at Waitrose, was recently charged for stealing about 1,000 items from the store he worked at, and then peddling them on eBay. Among the items that were retrieved from Foley included Ipods, as well as different electronics. Foley’s Ebay operation went on for about 6 years, and earned him around £25,000. […]
Ebay fraudster ordered to pay compensation
A man who was convicted of committing three frauds, now has to pay £1,250 as compensation to the people he conned. Nicholas Skinner advertised two Toyotas and a caravan on his eBay account, but when buyers the made the deposit to his account , they never heard from him again. Skinner pleaded innocence to obtaining […]
Pawnbroker finds his name used in Facebook scam
A pawnbroker found a clever scam on Facebook in which a company was conducting transactions using its name. Many people trying to make purchases from Essex (Cash Xchange) in Ness Road were affected by the con. Some of those who fell victim to the con would buy goods and then make payments through Paypal, but […]