By County Councillor John Reynolds
A team of rogue traders and money launderers who were previously sentenced to more than 28 years in prison, have been ordered to hand over £253,000 they made from their crimes
Norwich Crown Court ordered the confiscation of their assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act. These assets will be used to compensate the many elderly and vulnerable victims targeted by the team.
The case follows a three year investigation by Cambridgeshire County Council's Financial Investigation Team which supported the substantive criminal investigation conducted by the County Council's Trading Standards Service and the Cambridgeshire Police Operation Magpie.
It saw their powers (under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002) used to trace and restrain the defendants ill-gotten gains and provide evidence of money laundering. It was also used to uncover further victims who, out of fear, had not reported the crimes.
Joseph Henry Lee, of Chesterton in Cambridge, who was sentenced by Cambridge Crown Court to 7½ years in prison, was ordered to pay £148,634 by Norwich Crown Court. His wife Beverley Lee £52,204, Joseph Bellman Jonathan Lee £40,000, James William Forrest £5,642, Kelly Gray £2,695 and Trevor Nockolds £2,600. This follows the earlier confiscation of nearly £9,700 from launderer Phillip Carr in 2011 as part of the same case, which was returned to his elderly Cambridge victim.
The investigation revealed that the gang ripped off over one hundred customers, some of whom handed over their life savings as grossly-inflated payment for poor quality – and often unnecessary – work the conmen undertook.
The prosecution also saw a number of the defendants prosecuted for money laundering, having cashed victims cheques through their own bank accounts on behalf of the ringleaders who wished to distance themselves from the criminality. These money launderers would take a cut of typically 10 per cent for providing this service.
My Conservative colleague Cllr Mathew Shuter, who is Cabinet Member for Enterprise, said: "We welcome the orders made by Norwich Crown Court today.
"It is important these criminals are not able to benefit from the wealth they have accumulated at the expense of their victims. Furthermore, in many cases the victims had lost their life savings to these rogues, so I am delighted as a County Council we were able to utilise fully the powers of our Financial Investigations Unit to claw back the money from these criminals and return it to their victims."
If you think that someone you know may have been a victim of a rogue trader, please contact Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 0845 4040 506.
Scams affecting local business
Trading Standards report it has seen a rise in complaints about business scams, in particular the re-emerging of the charitable publication scam.
It starts with a call claiming that someone in your office has agreed to place an advertisement in their charitable publication, and asking you to confirm your business details. They will go on to suggest the publication is being produced in partnership with local charities, emergency services, crime prevention or health services, and it will be distributed through doctors surgeries or support outlets
In fact, if the publication is produced at all, it is likely to be of low quality and circulated in significantly smaller numbers than stated. Invariably they will threaten legal action if you do not pay.
It is similar to the business directory scam which relates to advertising in business directories.
Generally you will be asked to return an order form even if you don’t want to buy advertising space – but according to the small print, by returning the form you are committing to an order requiring you to pay for ongoing entries in the directory running into hundreds of pounds a year. Again, legal action will be threatened if you do not pay.
Trading Standards' advice is quite straightforward: Do not get into conversation on the phone with sales people who you are not familiar with, but instead ask them to send you the information in writing so you can make an informed decision.
Check out the advertiser and the publication before agreeing to any advertising, and satisfy yourself the charity supported exists, the publication is being produced with their agreement and there is proof the circulation will be independently audited.
If you are told that someone in your business has already agreed to go ahead with the advertisement, ask them to send you proof of that agreement. If they threaten legal action, write to them stating that you have requested proof that such an agreement was made and until it is produced, you will not be making a payment.
Keep a copy of the letter and ask the Post Office to provide you with a Certificate of Postage as proof that the letter was sent.
For more information about business scams or to report a scam, visit the Action Fraud website.
Contact John Reynolds
County Councillor John Reynolds
4 Holly Trees
Bar Hill
Cambridge
CB23 8SF
T 01954 200 571
F 01954 200 571
M 07720 379699
E john.reynolds@cambridgeshire.gov.uk
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