Charity conman Jailed.
A lorry driver who pocketed money he raised for the young son of murdered soldier, Lee Rigby, has been jailed for two and a half years. The court heard haw Gary Gardner, raised about £24,000 but only £4,000 made its way to any charity.
Gardner put on three truck-pull events, and thousands of people attended, including Lee Rigby’s widow and son. He was convicted of two counts of fraud.
The court heard how Gardner, a lorry driver, staged events in 2013, 2014 and 2015 in the Leicestershire village. He also spent £5,000 on producing and promoting a music single which only raised £200. The jury were told he used some of the charity funds to cover his overdrawn bank account.
Sentencing Gardner, Helen Malcolm QC said: “There has been an impact on every one of those who volunteered to assist you.”
She added: “Not one penny of the sums that you collected have been paid to Jack Rigby. I accept all the testimony that you worked very hard. In your favour I accept that you did not set out with the intention to defraud. The fact remains that what you did was undoubtedly dishonest. I would say it was indeed despicable.”
Gardner, who has previous convictions for theft and fraud, dating back to 1980 and 1995, was found guilty on two counts of fraud.
Four Jailed over £2.4 Million in Carbon Credit Fraud.
Four men have been sentenced to almost 13 years in prison, for conspiracy to mis-sell carbon credits totalling £2.4 Million to 130 investors.
The company director and senior brokers had previously admitted their involvement in fraudulent sales, made through two businesses, named Harman Royce Ltd and Kendrick Zale Ltd.
Between January 2012 and August 2013, the men specifically targeted victims aged over 50, living in affluent postcodes, who they would cold call and persuade to purchase voluntary emission reduction carbon credits, which they said were worth between £5.26 and £6.50. In reality, the value of the credits was likely to be closer to 25p and 30p. In addition, voluntary emission cutback credits are not traded in the secondary market, so investors would have been unable to ever produce the promised 100% return on their investments.
In addition to drawing salaries from their fraudulent activities, they also lavished themselves in high end watches and expensive cars.
What is Investment Fraud ?
You may get a cold call from someone pretending to offer you the opportunity to invest in a variety of schemes or products, that are either worthless or don’t even exist. It is also known as share sale fraud, hedge fund fraud, land banking fraud or bond fraud. The majority of these frauds are run out of offices, known as boiler rooms.
1. Never take up offers of investments on the spot from cold calls– by law no company should be cold calling you, unless you have given specific consent for them to do so. Don’t give out your bank account details or sensitive information. Boiler room investments mostly target people over 65. If you suspect you, a family member or friend is being targeted, contact your local authority, police or action fraud immediately.
2. Don’t give out your bank account details or sensitive information.
3. Boiler room investments mostly target people over 65. If you suspect you, a family member or friend is being aimed, contact your local authority, police or action fraud immediately.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!