Private Sector

The financier behind a collapsed chain of London seafood restaurants has been sentenced to six years in prison in an Italian fraud trial that has rocked the Vatican.

Gianluigi Torzi, the man responsible for the Seasons chain of fish restaurants, was sentenced alongside Cardinal Angelo Becciu, the most senior Catholic Church official ever to stand trial before a Vatican criminal court. Becciu was jailed for five and a half years.

A builder who defrauded his client on their £700,000 home refurbishment has been jailed for four years following a prosecution brought by Kensington and Chelsea Council.

https://www.constructionenquirer.com/2023/12/18/cheating-builder-gets-four-years-in-jail/

Today at Westminster Magistrates’ Court, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) successfully prosecuted the convicted £17 million solar panel fraudster David Black for the second time, after investigators discovered he was using a different name in business dealings in breach of conditions enacted after his release from prison.

https://www.sfo.gov.uk/2023/12/14/sfo-secures-second-conviction-of-solar-panel-fraudster/

A Police Federation consultant who lied about payments to members of the House of Lords as he helped himself to part of £250,000 set aside for improving policing is facing jail for fraud.

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/police-federation-consultant-faces-jail-150811629.html?guccounter=1

A dental manager has been jailed for stealing a quarter of a million pounds from her practice - blaming it her colleagues with 'drugs, debts and family issues'.

Lisa Marie Jones, 55, spent the money on luxury handbags and shoes after paying herself up to £8,000 a month, more than six times her actual wage of £1,200.

https://www.itv.com/news/granada/2023-12-12/dental-manager-stole-almost-300000-from-practice

Companies operating in the UK – whether incorporated in the UK or simply carrying on a business in the UK are entering into a period of significant change in the way corporate crime is going to be investigated and prosecuted.

https://www.engage.hoganlovells.com/knowledgeservices/news/is-the-uk-entering-into-a-new-age-of-corporate-crime-enforcement

Small businesses are struggling to spot fraud, according to a new Take Five to Stop Fraud quiz.

Nearly one in five (17%) small business owners cannot always spot online fraud, according to new research from UK Finance.

Natwest’s former head of fraud prevention quietly left his role earlier this year after the group found out he was working with a law firm specialising in bringing scam victim claims against banks.

A Natwest spokesperson told City A.M. that the bank took “appropriate internal action” against Jason Costain over his work with Liverpool-based CEL Solicitors.

A builder has pleaded guilty to fraud following a successful prosecution carried out by Warwickshire County Council Trading Standards.

Adam Jones, 50, of Grange Road, Longford, Coventry, has pleaded guilty to two counts of fraud.

Four people accused of fraud after the collapse of bakery chain Patisserie Valerie will not face trial until 2026, Southwark Crown Court has heard.

Christopher Marsh, a former director and chief financial officer of Patisserie Holdings, the company behind Patisserie Valerie, and his wife, accountant Louise Marsh - both from St Albans - were charged by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).