Private Sector

A businessman, through his company, swindled residents out of £1.5m by falsely promising energy savings and home security through their products and services.

The court heard how between 2014 and 2015, Robin MacDonald conducted a widespread campaign of fraud and mis-selling through his businesses, Sunpower Renewables Ltd and Stirling Technologies Ltd, trading as Proshield Alarms.

Five people have appeared in court after being charged for their part in an alleged wine fraud, following an extensive Hertfordshire County Council’s Trading Standards investigation.

https://www.thecomet.net/news/24071181.five-appear-court-part-alleged-wine-fraud/

More than 5,000 companies were formed over the last year by Chinese nationals using addresses in Northern Ireland where the home, business owners or residents are believed to have no connection to the companies.

Companies using addresses across the north, some fictitious, are trading on sites like Amazon but are using historically lax registration rules likely as part of some type of VAT fraud and to evade potential tax liabilities, according to a leading fraud expert.

https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/other/fraud-warning-after-5000-firms-started-in-last-year-by-chinese-nationals-using-northern-ireland-addresses/ar-BB1hcepB

A former Telford lorry driver has been spared jail after defrauding the haulage firm he had worked for out of £12,500 by filling up his personal car on his company fuel card.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/crime/2024/01/13/former-telford-lorry-driver-spared-jail-for-fuel-card-fraud/

Over the past year, we have seen numerous stories of employees sabotaging their employer.

Whether it's a finance professional embezzling money, or a retail worker stealing hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of products, the cost-of-living crisis has caused a surge in these types of incidences - posing a new type of internal threat for employers.

Conservative backbencher David Davis and Labour MP Kevan Jones are pushing for an emergency debate.

MPs plan to raise the Horizon scandal in the Commons as Parliament returns this week amid growing anger over the wrongful prosecution of subpostmasters and postmistresses for alleged fraud.

https://www.shropshirestar.com/news/uk-news/2024/01/08/mps-plan-to-raise-horizon-scandal-in-commons-as-calls-grow-for-victim-redress/

Metropolitan Police detectives are looking at “potential fraud offences” committed during the Horizon IT scandal.

More than 700 Post Office branch managers were handed criminal convictions after faulty Fujitsu accounting software made it appear as though money was missing from their outlets.

It has been described as the most widespread miscarriage of justice in UK history and a public inquiry into it is ongoing.

An Essex post office manager who was falsely accused of a £17,000 fraud claims that The Post Office was "forcing him out". The Post Office Horizon scandal is getting huge exposure this week with the airing of the ITV drama Mr Bates Vs The Post Office, part of which was filmed in Essex and shares how hundreds of subpostmasters and mistresses (SPMs) were wrongly prosecuted for fraud and theft.

https://www.essexlive.news/news/essex-news/post-office-scandal-essex-subpostmaster-6675169

A Nigerian businessman who appeared to be closing in on an acquisition of Premier League football club Sheffield United is being sued by the US financial watchdog.

Dozy Mmobuosi is facing claims he inflated his companies’ financial performance by hundreds of millions of dollars to con investors.

A craft beer pub in Brighton is on the market for £725,000 after the previous owner closed the premises following a fraud.

Almost exactly a year ago on Tuesday 3 January, the Craft Beer Co posted on its Facebook page: “Sadly we are temporarily closing our Brighton venue due to a large-scale fraud/theft committed by a trusted senior team member.