CPS News Brief

CPS confiscates £4.2m from mortgage fraudster

A convicted mortgage fraudster has been stripped of more than £4million in criminal assets after prosecutors forced him to sell off his property empire or face further time in prison.

Independent financial advisor Adeel Mirza, 47, was convicted of nine counts of fraud in 2013 and jailed for six years.

Following his conviction Mirza was ordered to pay back £4,180,788.32 and specialist lawyers from the Crown Prosecution Service Proceeds of Crime (CPSPOC) division began complex negotiations to recover the sum for the taxpayer.

Prosecutors arranged the sale of nine houses across London – the majority of Mirza’s UK property portfolio – which were all registered to a trust in Jersey. With the help of the authorities in Jersey, the CPS was able to register the confiscation order on the island so that the properties could be seized and sold.

Holly Morton, Specialist Prosecutor for CPSPOC, said: 

“Adeel Mirza used a complex network of companies to illegally gain millions of pounds for himself and his corrupt and criminal associates. 

“We have now ensured he will not be able to continue to benefit from his crimes once out of jail. 

“Criminals must realise that we will seek confiscation of their assets. When they are caught committing these kinds of crimes they will lose their liberty and will not return to lives of luxury on release.

“The success of this case demonstrates the determined and effective joint action between the CPS, National Crime Agency and overseas authorities in ensuring that criminals do not get to retain the benefit of their crimes.”

Mirza’s scheme was uncovered after a NCA investigation revealed he had provided false income and employment details in order to obtain substantially inflated mortgages.

The investigation uncovered a complex network of payments, bank accounts and properties held by companies in different countries and under different names, including unsuspecting members of Mirza’s family. These mortgages were arranged for clients, including a heroin dealer.

Further Information

Mirza was convicted of seven offences of Obtaining Money Transfers by Deception and two counts of Conspiracy to Obtain a Money Transfer by Deception. On 22 August 2013 Mirza was sentenced to six years’ imprisonment.

He was ordered to pay £4,180,788.32 at Southwark Crown Court on 24 September 2015 with a six year default sentence if he did not pay. The order has now been fully satisfied.

 

Belsize Park man sentenced to life for murdering his wife

Jose Leonardo, 56,was today (17 November) sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 22 years for murdering his wife Maria Mbombo in their home in Belsize Park on 18 May this year. Leonardo was convicted of murder on Monday at the Central Criminal Court. He was found not guilty of a charge of perverting the course of justice. 

Aisling Hosein, reviewing lawyer from the CPS London homicide team, said: 

“Leonardo was a possessive, controlling and abusive man with a history of violence against his wife Maria. He set out on 18 May to murder her and stabbed her repeatedly with a knife. The nature of the wounds meant she will have slowly bled to death, but he made no attempt to call for help.

“He claimed he had been provoked by his wife to lose control during an argument, and was instead guilty of the lesser charge of manslaughter. However, the prosecution was able to prove he had planned the attack earlier in the day, which showed clear intent. That afternoon he even used a search engine to look for the most painful place to stab someone.

“This is a cruel man whose actions have had tragic consequences, ripping apart a family and leaving three children without a mother. He will now serve a life sentence for his crimes.”

Three men sentenced to life for the murder of Liverpool teenager

Three men have been sentenced to life for the joint enterprise murder of a teenager on a canal towpath in Liverpool. 

Liverpool Crown Court heard that Jake Culshaw, 25, John Martin, 20 and Paul Martin, 26, murdered 16-year-old Lewis Dunne on 15 November 2015 and they were convicted earlier today (16 November).

Lewis was discovered on the canal towpath by a passer-by on the night of the murder. 

An examination showed he had been shot in the back with a shotgun that was later found abandoned in the canal. 

The Crown Prosecution Service said that Lewis was an innocent victim of an on-going battle between two local street gangs that had begun earlier in the day.

CCTV had earlier captured four men, including Culshaw and Paul and John Martin, in the area and they were seen running away immediately after Lewis was shot. One of them was carrying what appeared to be a shotgun.

Technology that tracks the use of mobile phones further linked the three men to the scene.

Senior Crown Prosecutor Sara Drysdale from Mersey-Cheshire Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“Lewis Dunne was the innocent victim of a senseless and violent dispute between two street gangs in the north of Liverpool.

“This prosecution was the result of a long and painstaking operation by Merseyside Police and the Crown Prosecution Service and the search for the fourth man seen on the CCTV on that night will continue.

“The Crown Prosecution Service prosecuted this case as joint enterprise. We said that Culshaw and John and Paul Martin acted together with the same aim and that they were all guilty of Lewis’s murder.

“Some have said Lewis Dunne was in ‘the wrong place at the wrong time’ but Lewis had every right to be where he was on that night.

“It was Jake Culshaw and John and Paul Martin that were in the wrong place, lying in wait to exact a vicious revenge on a rival gang. But they shot and killed Lewis Dunne instead, leaving his family devastated. Our thoughts and condolences are with them at this very difficult time.”

Stefano Brizzi convicted of murdering Gordon Semple

A man who claimed the death of a man he met on social media site Grindr was accidental and the result of a sex game gone wrong has today been convicted of murder. Mr Semple went to the Southwark home of Stefano Brizzi, 50, on the afternoon of April 1 of this year. Later that evening Brizzi murdered him and then made efforts to dispose of his body. He has been convicted of one count of murder and had previously pleaded guilty to obstructing the coroner in the execution of his duty. Brizzi will be sentenced on 9 December.

Malcolm McHaffie, the deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS London said: 

“Stefano Brizzi is an evil and calculating man who intentionally killed Gordon Semple and then made gruesome attempts to dispose of his body.  He cynically lied to the court and the jury claiming that Mr Semple’s tragic death was caused when a sex game went horribly wrong and that he had taken drugs which caused him to try to cover up the death. This was all fabricated by Brizzi to evade justice.

“In taking steps to fully understand Brizzi’s lifestyle, we scrutinised many thousands of social media messages. Piecing together the events of that evening was equally challenging, bearing in mind the extreme lengths that Brizzi went to to remove traces of his crime and cover his tracks. However, built on the foundation of a strong police investigation, and detailed toxicology and pathology evidence, we put a very strong case before the court and Brizzi has now been brought to justice for his terrible crimes.

“We hope that the outcome today provides some comfort to friends and family of Mr Semple.”