‘Dodgey Cheque’ gang hit where it hurts

On Friday 5th May 2006 a total sum of over £170,000 was obtained from 9 defendants from the Staffordshire, and Lancashire area, by way of a Confiscation Order granted at Birmingham Crown Court. The total amount determined as the gangs benefit from their crimes was over £900,000.

The criminal investigation came to fruition in December 2005 when 11 individuals in Staffordshire and North West England entered guilty pleas in Birmingham Crown Court. The case involved property valued at £567,351 which was stolen by the use of counterfeit Britannia Building Society cheques in the purchase of thirty high value cars (including a Ferrari and a Porsche) as well as a caravan and some Rolex watches.

Jason Kenneth SHERRATT of Loggerheads, Shropshire, Scott John HACKNEY of Stoke on Trent, Philip John ROBERTS of Stoke on Trent, and Carl Damien LLOYD of Wolstanton, Staffordshire were involved in obtaining these items and pleaded guilty to the offence of ‘Conspiracy to obtain property by deception’.

Ryan David MILLER of Brown Edge, Staffordshire, Mahmood KHAN of Church Lawton, Cheshire, Basharat KHAN of Bolton, Craig Timothy BOULD of Stoke on Trent, Anthony Edward SEDDON of, Swinton, Manchester, David Paul HORROCKS of Runcorn, Cheshire, and Derek Joseph MIDGLEY of Swinton, Manchester each received one of the stolen vehicles and entered guilty pleas to the offence of ‘Handling stolen goods’.

Sentencing was carried out at Birmingham Crown Court in January 2006 when penalties were imposed that ranged from up to three years imprisonment for SHERRATT and HACKNEY, through to community orders and/or substantial fines and costs orders for the other defendants. A timetable for confiscation of assets under the Proceeds of Crime Act was set and the confiscation hearings were held at Birmingham Crown Court on Thursday 4th May 2006 and Friday 5th May 2006 with the following results:

Jason Kenneth SHERRATT was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £374,210.81 and was subject to a confiscation order in the sum of £83,000 – this being the value of assets held in his name and which included a substantial deposit in a Hong Kong bank. This Hong Kong account was deemed to be a hidden asset under the legislation and although there was no funds readily available in the account the sum of £40,000 which was proven to have been through that account between September and December 2005 was added to the benefit figure. He was given 12 months to pay the confiscation order with a Default Sentence of 2 years imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

Scott John HACKNEY was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £333,310.31. However, he was found to have no available monies or assets meaning that no confiscation order could be made. This can be reviewed if assets are identified at anytime in the future.

Philip John ROBERTS was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £73,958 and was subject to a confiscation order in the sum of £24,418.48. He was given 3 months to pay with a Default Sentence of 18 months imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

Carl Damien LLOYD was found to have benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £48,250 and was subject to a confiscation order in the sum of  £1000.

Mahmood KHAN had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £18,200 and was subject to a confiscation order in that amount. He was given until the end of July 2007 with a Default Sentence of 12 months imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

Basharat KHAN had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £5,400 and was subject to a confiscation order in that amount. He was given 6 months to pay with a Default Sentence of 6 months imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

Anthony Edward SEDDON had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £16,854 and was subject to a confiscation order in that amount. He was given 12 months to pay with a Default Sentence of 6 months imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

David Paul HORROCKS had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £17,888.56 and was subject to a confiscation order in that amount. He was given 12 months to pay with a Default Sentence of 6 months imprisonment should he fail to pay in that time.

Derek Joseph MIDGLEY had benefited from his criminal conduct to the value of £16,584 and was subject to a confiscation order in that amount. He was given 3 months to pay with a Default Sentence of 3 months should he fail to pay in that time.

Ryan David MILLER and Craig Timothy BOULD were not subject to confiscation proceedings due to them having no assets identified that could be confiscated.

The result of this case should serve as a reminder to criminals every where that no matter what acquisitive crime they commit, be it Class A drugs importation or large scale VAT fraud to something as simple as trying to acquire goods through fraudulent cheques or money, it just will not pay now we have the new powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.