CPS News Brief

Man jailed over £60,000 worth of Viagra style medicine

Brian Hipwood, of Ealing, was today sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment at Isleworth Crown Court for possession of illegal medicines and tobacco duty evasion. He was convicted on 14 March 2013 on one count of Cheating the Public Revenue, nine counts of possession of a medicinal product without a marketing authorisation and one count of possession of a class C drug with intent to supply.

Mhairi Urquhart, specialist fraud lawyer for the CPS, said:

“When officers from HM Revenue and Customs first visited the home of Brian Hipwood, he was apprehended in a state of undress as he attempted to leave the property. He clearly had something to hide.

“Not only was Hipwood selling tobacco without declaring the duty, he was selling unauthorised and therefore potentially dangerous unlicensed Viagra-style medicine too.

“When officers searched containers in Willesden rented by Hipwood, they found a staggering amount of illegal produce. Not a single penny of the £46,000 that was due to the Public Revenue from the cigarettes and hand-rolled tobacco that Hipwood was selling had been paid.

“Literally thousands of Viagra-style medicines were also found, with a street value of over £64,000. Medicine is licensed and controlled for a good reason; to ensure the safety of those using it. The tablets found in Hipwood’s possession had undergone no such quality control.

“Today should serve as a warning to those who seek to make money by ignoring important safety checks.”

Reminder: CPS legal trainee scheme 2013

Applications to the Crown Prosecution Service 2013 legal trainee scheme will close on Friday 5 April and talented law graduates seeking an interesting and rewarding career in the public service are encouraged to apply.

Keir Starmer QC, Director of Public Prosecutions, said:

"Following the successful relaunch of our legal trainee scheme last year, we are delighted to be able to offer a further 10 trainee positions to top aspiring solicitors and barristers for 2013.

"We are looking for inspirational, hard-working, top quality trainees who want to make a vital contribution to delivering justice for victims and witnesses.

"Successful candidates will have the opportunity to get involved in the varied and fascinating work of the CPS, with both 12 month pupillages and two year training contracts available."

Matthew Treece, a pupil barrister who joined the CPS as part of the 2012 trainee scheme, said:

"Since joining the CPS last November, I have had the opportunity to shadow a number of different advocates and experience the hard, but really interesting work involved in bringing such a variety of cases to court.

"I am thrilled to be helping make sure that the right offenders are prosecuted for the right crimes and look forward to being able to contribute more as I gain experience."

Once qualified, each trainee will be offered a permanent role as a Crown Prosecutor with an expectation that they will continue to progress to the role of Senior Crown Prosecutor and beyond. Mr Starmer added:

"We know from last year that because of the exciting and interesting work involved, the CPS trainee scheme is highly competitive, with over 1,000 applications in 2012. We are committed to recruiting and developing outstanding lawyers and the legal trainee scheme is a valuable way of bringing new talent into the organisation."

The 10 available trainee posts are based across the organisation in CPS London, CPS Thames & Chiltern and CPS HQ's Welfare, Rural & Health Division.

More details about the roles and how to apply can be found on the CPS website.

Operation Yewtree: CPS decides David Smith should be charged with five offences

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London said,

“The CPS has carefully considered the evidence gathered as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to David Smith, who was employed as a driver at the time of the allegations. The CPS received a file of evidence on 21 December 2012. Further enquiries were necessary and the result of those enquiries was received by the CPS on 18th March.

“We have concluded, in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors, that there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, and that it is in the public interest for David Smith to be charged with five offences.

They are:

• Indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14 years (01/06/1984 - 21/07/1984)

• Indecent assault on a boy under the age of 14 years (01/06/1984 - 21/07/1984)

• Gross indecency with a boy under the age of fourteen years of age (01/06/1984 - 21/07/1984)

• Gross indecency with a boy under the age of fourteen years of age (01/06/1984 - 21/07/1984)

• Male person committing buggery with a boy under 16 years of age (01/07/1984 - 21/07/1984)

“David Smith will appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court on 8 May 2013.

“David Smith has been charged with criminal offences and has a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."

CPS statement on police officer convicted of theft and conspiracy to supply controlled drugs

Alison Storey, Specialist Prosecutor in the Crown Prosecution Service Special Crime Division, said:

“As a detective constable, Nicholas McFadden should have been taking drugs off the streets. Instead, he was stealing the very drugs the police had seized, and putting them straight back there.

“He exploited his trusted position by stealing large quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis and conspiring with his elder brother, Simon McFadden, to sell them for a significant profit.

“The brothers acquired at least £600,000 in total from their criminal activities, which they used to fund increasingly extravagant lifestyles. Almost £160,000 in cash was also found in bags in Nicholas McFadden’s garage. However, the pair’s convictions today prove that corrupt police officers are not above the law they are expected to uphold and they, and their criminal acquaintances, will be brought to justice.”

Background

Nicholas McFadden was a detective constable within the Organised Crime Group of West Yorkshire Police.

Both Nicholas and Simon McFadden have been found guilty at Leeds Crown Court of theft and conspiracy to supply controlled drugs.

Simon McFadden was also found guilty of acquiring, using or possessing criminal property contrary to section 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Nicholas McFadden previously pleaded guilty to acquiring, using or possessing criminal property contrary to section 329 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 on 1 February 2013. Karen McFadden, married to Simon, pleaded guilty to the same charge on 16 November 2012.

All three will be sentenced on Thursday 4 April.

Philpotts and Mosley guilty of deaths of six children in a house fire

Michael and Mairead Philpott have been found guilty of manslaughter for causing the deaths of their six children in a house fire in Derby. Paul Mosley, a friend of the couple, has also been found guilty of the same offences. The case was described by CPS Crown Advocate Samantha Shallow as “a plan that went disastrously and tragically wrong”.

The Philpott children, Duwayne, Jade, John, Jack, Jesse and Jayden, all tragically died from the effects of the fire at their home in Victory Road, Derby on 11 May last year. Samantha Shallow, from the Crown Prosecution Service’s East Midlands Complex Casework Unit, worked closely with Derbyshire Police and officers from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit, providing legal advice to the investigation.

Ms Shallow said:

“Today’s verdict shows that the children died as a result of the actions of Michael and Mairead Philpott and Paul Mosley when they set the fire. It was started as a result of a plan between the three of them to turn family court proceedings in Mr Philpott’s favour. It was a plan that went disastrously and tragically wrong.

“This has been a challenging and harrowing case to prosecute. I am grateful that so many people from the local community came to court and gave evidence. This cannot have been easy and I would like to thank them for coming forward and enabling us to get to the truth.

“Amid all the details of the defendants’ personal lives that have come out in court, it should not be forgotten that at the heart of this case were the deaths of six innocent children.

“I extend the condolences of the whole prosecution team to the family and friends of the six children for their tragic loss.”

CPS statement on Operation Alice

A CPS spokesperson said:

"We have received initial papers but we have not received a full file of evidence and we now await the conclusion of the police investigation before considering charges."

CPS decides no charges should be brought against Eric Joyce MP

A CPS spokesperson said:

“The CPS received a complete file on 26 March in relation to events at the Sports and Social Club within the Palace of Westminster on 14 March 2013, following which Eric Joyce MP was arrested.

“The file related to allegations of assault and after careful consideration we have concluded there is insufficient evidence to charge Mr Joyce with any offences in connection with this incident.

“Although there appears to have been an incident on the evening in question, evidence obtained from witnesses contained multiple inconsistencies and there is insufficient evidence that Mr Joyce committed any offence.

“On this basis, we have concluded there is insufficient evidence to support a realistic prospect of conviction and that no further action should be taken.”

Bogus lawyer Giovanni Di Stefano convicted

Giovanni Di Stefano has today been convicted at Southwark Crown Court of 25 counts including deception, fraud, money laundering and using a false instrument committed between 2004 and 2012.

Hilary Ryan from the CPS Organised Crime Division, said:

“For many years, Giovanni Di Stefano described himself to potential clients as a lawyer and usually as an Italian ‘avvocato’. He was nothing of the sort.

“When the law caught up with him, he falsely claimed to have obtained various formal, legal qualifications. He then went on to claim that having taught himself the law, he was entitled to describe himself as a lawyer. This was fraud by anyone’s standards and a charade that he kept up for over eight years in order to line his own pockets.

“People rightly expect the utmost integrity from those in the legal profession. Giovanni Di Stefano routinely tricked his clients and abused their trust. Those who seek to behave in such a cynical way should take note of this conviction today.”

Stephen Seddon guilty of murdering his parents

Cheryl Hramiak, Branch Crown Prosecutor at CPS North West said:

“As a result of today’s verdicts Stephen Seddon has been brought to justice for the violent and premeditated murders of his own parents and for an earlier attempt on their lives.

“He had planned these crimes in enormous detail and went to great lengths to cover his tracks and avoid detection, staging the scene of the murders to make it look like his father was responsible for the shootings. After his failed attempt to kill his parents by driving the car into the canal he even presented himself as a hero for trying to rescue them. His motive was purely financial: to get his inheritance without waiting for his parents to die. Since then he has tried to deceive everyone about what really happened and has shown no remorse whatsoever.

“The prosecution team has meticulously pieced together hundreds of items of evidence to present an overwhelming case that Stephen Seddon intended to kill his parents; that he failed in his first attempt but tragically succeeded in doing so in July 2012.

“The jury have consequently rejected his version of what happened when he drove the car into the canal and his bogus, and outlandish, accounts of the day that he killed his parents. They have recognised them for what they are – a catalogue of lies.

“I would like to offer my sincere sympathies to Robert and Patricia’s family and friends. I hope the justice that has been delivered today will go some small way towards helping them to come to terms with their loss.”

Former Essex broker jailed for foreign exchange investment fraud

Ian James Dickinson has today been sentenced to five years at Chelmsford Crown Court for a fraudulent foreign exchange investment scheme. Over nearly five years, Dickinson defrauded investors of around £3 million.

Rakesh Somaia, a senior fraud specialist for the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“Many of Ian Dickinson’s victims were lifelong friends and local acquaintances. His fraud was the ultimate betrayal of their trust.

“He was a high profile and trusted member of the community, whose membership of the Rotary Club, Golf Club and Cricket Club gave the impression that he was a man who could be trusted. Some of his victims handed over their life or retirement savings.

“He became a junior foreign exchange broker at the age of just 17 and went on to lead a career in the City. His professional background was well known to friends and neighbours in Frinton on Sea, who kept on investing and even recommended others to do the same.

“Dickinson made little attempt to honour his word to make money for friends and investors, choosing instead to spend their money repaying earlier investors and to support a lifestyle which included a large house, cars and a private education for his children. These cases cause untold financial ruin, stress and misery to the victims and today shows the CPS is ready and able to prosecute the perpetrators.”

Background:

Dickinson took in excess of £11m from investors and invested just over three quarters of a million pounds in foreign exchange, making an overall loss on those investments of just under £200,000. He returned less than £8m to investors.

Dickinson pleaded guilty on 14 February 2013 to one count of participating in a fraudulent business as a sole trader, contrary to section 9 (1) Fraud Act 2006 and one count of carrying on an unauthorised regulated activity, contrary to sections 19 and 23 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000.

Five sentenced for ‘extraordinary’ attack on public purse

Sue Patten, Head of Fraud at the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“This was an extraordinary scheme created to attack the public purse. The defendants put in claims on a ghost film called 'Landscape of Lives' with the sole intention of criminally exploiting a tax relief system designed to support the UK film industry. The group had lied to the authorities by claiming the film had a budget of nearly £20 million in order to claim as much tax relief as possible.

“Following their arrest, they produced a different film aptly named ‘Landscape of Lies’ on a budget of less than £90,000 in an attempt to pretend the film claimed for really did exist.

“The defendants had big plans and succeeded in cheating the public purse out of nearly £1 million and had it not been for the actions of HMRC, that figure could have been three times as large.

“Tax evasion costs this country £14 billion a year; the equivalent of £769 for every family. It is more important than ever that we bring criminals behind this type of complex scheme to justice.”

Background:

1. Bashar Al-Issa was convicted on 12 March 2013 of two counts of conspiracy to cheating the public revenue and sentenced to six years and six months.

2. Aoife Madden pleaded guilty and was convicted of two counts of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and sentenced to four years and eight months.

3. Tariq Hassan was convicted on 12 March 2013 of one count of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and sentenced to four years.

4. Ian Sherwood was convicted on 12 March 2013 of one count of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and sentenced to three years and six months.

5. Osama Al Baghdady was convicted on 12 March 2013 of one count of conspiracy to cheat the public revenue and sentenced to four years.

Operation Yewtree: CPS decides man in his 70s should not face prosecution

Alison Saunders, Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS London, said:

“The CPS has carefully considered the evidence gathered as part of Operation Yewtree in relation to a man in his 70s from Cambridgeshire who was arrested on 11 November 2012 over an allegation of indecent assault. The CPS received a full file of evidence on 20 March 2013.

“In this case the complainant made a withdrawal statement, which maintained that the allegations were true, but in which she said that she had made a statement to lend support to any other complainants who might come forward in relation to the same suspect. The complainant said that as she would be the only complainant to give evidence if the matter went to trial, she did not want to pursue it. She confirmed to the police that she came to this conclusion of her own free will, and was aware that she, like all complainants of sexual offences, was entitled to anonymity.

“We looked at the possibilities of bringing a prosecution without the evidence of this complainant, but have concluded that there would be insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction.

“The suspect has maintained his innocence throughout.

“The conclusion was that, having given careful consideration to all of the evidence gathered in this matter including the detail of the withdrawal statement and the views of the investigating police officer, it would not be in the interests of justice to compel the complainant to attend court to give evidence. Without her evidence there is insufficient evidence to proceed.”

Operation Elveden: CPS Charging Decision

Alison Levitt, QC, Principal Legal Advisor to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), oversees CPS decision making and all potential prosecutions in relation to the ongoing phone hacking investigations and other related matters.

Ms Levitt said:

"This statement is made in the interests of transparency and accountability to explain the decisions reached in respect of cases arising from Operation Elveden, which is the Metropolitan Police Service investigation into allegations involving the unlawful provision of information by public officials to journalists.

"This announcement relates to a file of evidence received from the Metropolitan Police Service. The full file of evidence was received by the CPS on 4 March 2013.

"We have concluded, following a careful review of the evidence, that Geoff Webster, who at the time of the alleged offending was Deputy Editor of The Sun newspaper, should be charged with two offences of conspiring to commit misconduct in public office, contrary to section 1(1) of the Criminal Law Act 1977.

"The first offence relates to allegations that Mr Webster, between July 2010 and August 2011, authorised payments totalling £6,500 for information supplied by a public official to one of his journalists.

“The second offence relates to an allegation that in November 2010, Mr Webster authorised a payment of £1,500 for information provided by an unknown public official.

"All of these matters were considered carefully in accordance with the DPP's guidelines on the public interest in cases affecting the media. These guidelines require prosecutors to consider whether the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the overall criminality before bringing criminal proceedings.

"Accordingly, we have authorised the institution of proceedings and Mr Webster will appear before Westminster Magistrates' Court on 26 March 2013.

"May I remind all concerned that proceedings for a criminal offence involving Mr Webster will now be commenced and that he has a right to a fair trial. It is very important that nothing is said, or reported, which could prejudice that trial. For these reasons it would be inappropriate for me to comment further."

The full charges are as follows:

1. Between 4 July 2010 and 12 August 2011 conspired together with a public official, a journalist and others unknown to commit misconduct in a public office. Contrary to section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977

2. Between 3 and 6 November 2010 conspired together with a person or persons unknown to commit misconduct in a public office. Contrary to section 1(1) Criminal Law Act 1977

CPS decides no charges should be brought over hacking of Darwin emails

Malcolm McHaffie, Deputy Head of Special Crime at the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“On 21 November 2012 Cleveland Police provided the CPS with a file of evidence in relation to Gerard Tubb, a Sky News journalist who, it was alleged, had accessed the email accounts of Anne and John Darwin. The Darwins were convicted of insurance fraud in 2008 over the faking of John Darwin’s death.

“In deciding whether any prosecutions should be brought, we carefully considered all the evidence in accordance with the Director of Public Prosecution’s guidelines for prosecutors on cases affecting the media. In accordance with these guidelines, provided there is sufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction, the critical question prosecutors must ask is whether the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the overall criminality.

“On the evidence currently available it is not possible to ascertain whether the potential offence of unlawful interception of a communication was committed in the UK or the US. Although this may warrant further investigation, it has been decided under section 4.2 of the Code for Crown prosecutors that further investigations are not required as, in accordance with the DPP’s guidelines, we do not consider that any potential prosecution would be in the public interest.

“Having considered the factors set out in the guidelines on cases affecting the media, it is our view that the evidence indicates that the public interest served by the conduct in question outweighs the potential overall criminality, should an offence be proved. In reaching this decision, we took into account that the emails were accessed with a view to showing that a criminal offence had been committed and that a number of the same emails were subsequently lawfully obtained by the police and used by the prosecution at the criminal trial of Anne Darwin.”

Four charged with offences connected to local government election

Jane Wragg, Specialist Prosecutor handling Special Crime in the Crown Prosecution Service, said:

“After careful consideration of all the available evidence, I have concluded that four individuals should be charged over potential offences committed during the local government election for the Arboretum Ward of Derby on 3 May 2012.

“I have concluded there is sufficient evidence and that it is in the public interest to charge Tameena Ali and Samra Ali with the offence of personation, to charge Nasreen Akhtar with misconduct in public office and to charge Noshiela Maqsood with perverting the course of justice.

“These decisions were taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.

“All four women will appear at Derby Magistrates’ Court on 15 April 2013.”

Background

Tameena and Samra Ali are cousins, whose fathers are brothers.

Nasreen Akhtar is sister to their fathers and Tameena and Samra’s aunt.

Noshiela Maqsood is of no relation to the other defendants in this case.