THELAWPAGES.COM

Country

England & Wales

Hearing Date

23 March 2010

Court Location

Newcastle-upon-Tyne Crown Court

Judge

Judge Beatrice Bolton

Case Number

T20097631

Name

Data Anonymised

Gender

Male

Age

36

Co-Defendant/s

Yes

Offence/s

Sentencing Details

Total Sentence

4 Years

Parole Eligibility Date (PED)

22/3/2012

Sentenced Upon

Guilty Plea

Distinguishing Features / Details

The judge said: “The company was a sham…This company was clearly set up for illegal purposes. It was therefore his company around which this conspiracy revolved. It is clear he recruited, financed travelling and creamed off money.”

“It is unfortunate that the system was not tighter but nevertheless there is in my judgement a high degree of criminality in fraudulently setting about exploiting the system for gain,” Judge Bolton said. This was a fraud amounting to something in the region of just under £500,000. It was well organised, it involved a lot of work, it involved importing people into the country and this was on any view of it serious crime. In my judgement suspended sentences would be wholly unrealistic. There must be sentences passed which deter others from committing similar offences… Only immediate prison sentences could be justified.”

The gang of six, four from Slovakia and two from the Czech Republic, conspired to exploit a loophole in the administration of the tax credits system designed to help low-income families. They set up a sham company in Tyneside and provided workers with false addresses and payslips which they used for 55 benefit applications over 21 months, between 2003 and 2006, fraudulently obtaining £451,785.

They were caught after a successful operation, codenamed ‘Musca’, which involved Northumbria Police and police forces in Slovakia and the Czech Republic as well as Newcastle City Council, the UK Border Agency (UKBA) Immigration Crime Team, HM Revenue & Customs and the Department for Work and Pensions.

Case Timeline

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Crime Location

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Legal Teams & Authorities

Defence Team

Chambers

New Park Court Chambers

Barrister

Richard William Bloomfield

Prosecuting Team

Chambers

New Bailey Chambers

Barrister

Paul Richard Simpson