CPS News Brief

Company director jailed for fraud after bogus pension scheme

A company director who spent his clients’ pension investments on his own lavish lifestyle has been sentenced to six years in prison today (17 August).

Darren Say, an independent financial advisor from Loughton, Essex, launched a pension scheme in 2010 called Noisnep - pension spelt backwards - which he claimed would yield huge returns for his clients.

He told investors, some of whom were his own employees, that their funds would be used to develop a luxury holiday resort in the Bahamas which would be worth in excess of £100 million when finished.

Instead, Say took the money for himself. This amounted to £1 million, made up of his clients’ pension funds and tax breaks from HMRC for which they qualified. 

Chelmsford Crown Court heard at one point there was more than £1 million in Say’s company accounts but when he was arrested in January 2016, all of the money had been spent.

Christopher Tarrant, from the CPS, said: “Say treated the money entrusted to him as his own and spent it on funding his lavish lifestyle including buying a plot of land to build his family home.

“He provided his clients with impressive looking figures which they could look forward to on retirement, despite knowing this would never happen.

“Say denied his guilt but the evidence presented by the CPS meant the jury were sure he had committed the frauds alleged and convicted him.”

Ends

 

Notes to editors

• Say denied dishonestly making false representation to make gains to self or another and carrying on the business of a company with the intent to defraud creditors but was convicted by a jury in July.

• He received a six year prison sentence for fraud by abuse of position and two years for fraudulent trading to run concurrently. He was also disqualified from being a company director for eight years.

• Christopher Tarrant is a Specialist Prosecutor in the Specialist Fraud Division.

Teenager guilty of schoolboy killing in row over girl

A 17-year-old boy has today (17 August) been found guilty of the manslaughter of a schoolboy in a row over a girl.

Irfan Wahid, 16, was stabbed to death on a busy street in Leeds in February 2017.

The jury at Leeds Crown Court heard that on the afternoon of the attack, the defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, went to meet the girl at a bus stop in an attempt to discuss their relationship.

Shortly afterwards, Irfan Wahid got off a bus, intending to meet the same young woman. He discovered her talking to the 17-year-old.

Eyewitnesses described how Irfan lashed out, hitting the 17-year-old a number of times. His killer then pulled out a knife and stabbed Irfan between the ribs. He died later in hospital.

 

Ed Hulbert, from the CPS, said:

“The defendant confronted Irfan with a kitchen knife and fatally stabbed him, despite the immediate assistance offered by passers-by.  The attacker went on to burn his clothes and only gave himself up to the police two days later.

“The CPS was able to make use of a provision which allows the questioning of child witnesses to take place in advance on video, to assist them in giving their evidence.

“Our sympathies are with Irfan’s family.”

 

The 17-year-old will be sentenced on 15 September.

--Ends—

 

Notes to Editors

 

• Ed Hulbert is a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Yorkshire and Humberside

Disqualified driver jailed for crash which seriously injured pedestrian

A disqualified driver who was caught on camera knocking down and seriously injuring a pedestrian in Cardiff city centre has today (15 Aug) been jailed.

Mohammed Yousef Arshad, 23, drove over a pavement in his attempt to get away from police and was driving above the speed limit when he struck John Dare, 45, who was about to cross the road.

He had been driving along Westgate Street on 26 July this year when a policeman in a marked vehicle stopped him to conduct a check after the car triggered his Automatic Number Plate Recognition system. Arshad sped away from the officer, driving between other vehicles to try to escape.

He was disqualified from driving at the time after being caught driving whilst disqualified in 2016. He was first banned from the wheel following an incident of driving without due care and attention in 2015. 

Mr Dare suffered serious injuries including a fractured arm and multiple lacerations.

Leighton Mawer of the Crown Prosecution Service said: “At the time of the collision Arshad was driving on the wrong side of the road.

“Despite colliding with a pedestrian, who was then thrown over the vehicle’s bonnet, Arshad carried on driving in an attempt to evade the police.  

“Arshad shouldn’t have been on the road at all that day but chose to ignore the previous court order banning him from driving.  That decision had terrible consequences for Mr Dare, to whom we wish a speedy recovery.”

Mohammad Arshad was sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court to three years in prison for causing serious injury by dangerous driving, four months concurrently for aggravated vehicle taking, four months concurrently for driving whilst disqualified and four months concurrently for failure to stop. He also received a two month concurrent sentence for breach of a community order.

Arshad also disqualified from driving for six years and six months. He will have to pass an extended driving test.

ENDS 

NOTES TO EDITORS

• Leighton Mawer is a Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS Cymru-Wales.

• Video footage of the incident has been made available to media on a pooled basis and can be obtained by contacting [email protected]