In a record case, five people have been convicted at Southwark Crown Court in London of conspiracy to commit to fraud, after specialist detectives were alerted to a property related fraud in 2017. Conspiracy law in the UK is a growing field since the pandemic as estimates show that there were around 4.6 million fraud offences committed during the year ending March 2021.
In this article, we’ll look into conspiracy to commit fraud and the events that led to the conviction of five individuals in a £13 million property fraud.
What is Conspiracy to Commit Fraud?
According to the U.K. government public sector information website, conspiracy to commit fraud, or conspiracy to defraud, is an offence created by the courts, which means that it is not an offence which is defined by a specific Act of Parliament. This offence is defined by two or more people collaborating with a view to deprive others of funds or property for personal gain by unlawfully gaining access to assets.
As well as being charged after committing such a crime, perpetrators can also be charged if authorities are able to find evidence that somebody was planning to commit such a crime. Depending on the severity of the crime, and the level of damage caused, the penalties for conspiracy to commit fraud range from a fine to a custodial sentence of up to 10 years.
The £13 Million Property Fraud
On the 22nd of April 2022, after an 11-week trial, five men were found guilty at Southwark Crown Court on offences of conspiracy to commit fraud. Following a landmark case, Mohammed Tanveer, 33, Abdul Mukith, 42, Florian Pierini, 35, Mohammed Hussain, 31, Jeffrey Razaq, 60, Mitchell Malin, 35 and Anthony Whymark, 34 were found not guilty of the same offences.
It all began in 2015 when the named individuals set up a company named Essex and London Properties Ltd,ELP. The company claimed to purchase a number of properties along the Cross Rail route which runs between London and Essex. The Cross rail project, now known as The Elizabeth Line in honour of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth, will be officially opened on May 24th 2022 and has been created to provide high speed links between London, Essex and Reading and, is expected to become a popular commuter route.
After setting up Essex and London Properties, the founders began work on convincing people to invest in the proposed Cross rail properties which, they claimed, would be purchased and refurbished before being sold for a large profit to potential commuters. During 2015, over 800 people invested between £5000 and £140000 in ELP, totaling approximately £13 million. Despite this huge investment, it was subsequently revealed that the company had purchased just one property on the proposed route.
- Foiling the Fraudsters
In May 2017, two years after Essex and London properties Ltd was founded, specialist detectives from the Serious Economic Crime Unit were asked to investigate a suspected case of property fraud in Essex. As the investigation progressed, further, similar cases were brought to light and there would, eventually, be over 800 victims.
The Serious Economic Crime Unit’s Detective Constable Greig Avery said, “These men went to exceptional lengths to add ‘credibility’ to their Ponzi scheme and they used every boiler room tactic they could think of to pretend it was an established, legitimate company, and to shamelessly defraud hundreds of investors out of millions of pounds.This was a sophisticated scam which financially impacted a large number of victims and I’m incredibly proud that we’ve been able to stop them in their tracks and ensure that they answer for their crimes”.
- Who is the Serious Economic Crime Unit?
The Serious Economic Crime Unit is a merger of the International Justice, Organised Crime Division and the Specialist Fraud Division. It was created to provide specialist investigation into complicated fraud, money laundering and terrorist financing cases. Using highly specialised intelligence, the unit is dedicated to clamping down on economic crime in the UK.
What Happened to the Case?
Following a 2015 winding up petition in 2018, and the 11-week trial at Southwark Crown Court, Essex and London Properties Ltd was placed into liquidation and were subject to a confiscation hearing under the Proceeds of Crime Act. The five individuals were found guilty of the crime and will be sentenced in July of this year.
Other Cases of Fraud
- The ELP Case
The ELP case is the latest in a string of convictions resulting from investigations by the Serious Economic Crime Unit. In June 2021, Aram Sheibani was sentenced to 37 years in prison after being found guilty of 20 separate offences including money laundering, fraud and drug crimes. Sheibani, of Trafford, is reported to have used the proceeds of his crimes to fund a luxury lifestyle, including a portfolio of properties valued at £5 million.
Posing as a legitimate businessman, Sheibani forged documents, including pay slips, bank statements and tax information in order to gain access to high value loans. In 2019, despite attempts by Sheibani to destroy evidence, police were able to gain access to his property and to seize evidence including documentation, mobile phones and a substantial amount of cash.
Sergeant Lucy Pearson of the Serious Economic Crime Unit said of Sheibana, “He is a calculated, deceitful and scheming criminal who believes he is above the law. His greed shows no limits, and he has been funding his materialistic lifestyle of luxury with fraud and criminality.”
The extent of Sheibani’s criminality should not be underestimated, not only is he involved in tax evasion and money laundering which has a detrimental effect on the economy and society, resulting in honest taxpayers feeling that burden, but the source of his tainted income is as a result of a Class A drugs conspiracy.
- Coca-Cola Fraud
Other 2022 cases include a complex case at Coca Cola Enterprises UK Ltd whereby a number of individuals and businesses were involved in a scheme which netted over £1 million. The case comprised of a number of instances of bribery and corruption regarding the granting and securing of contracts. Finally, in April of 2022, Alan Barratt, 62 of Essex and Susan Dalton, 66, of Rochdale, were both jailed for five years for a fraudulent pension fraud in which 200 people were duped into handing over a total of £13 million.
Is Enough Being Done to Tackle Fraud?
There’s no doubt that advanced technology has been a mitigating factor in the rise of economic crime. But, with a number of convictions in 2022 alone, the clear message is that fraudsters are unlikely to get away with their crimes.Specialist departments, such as the Serious Economic Crime Unit, mean that authorities now have the resources to investigate economic crimes using specialist personnel and sophisticated technology.
If you suspect that you have been a victim of a financial crime, you should always contact the police after gathering as much evidence as possible.
Lady World Press 
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