Proceeds of Crime Act news 07/11/2008 West Midlands police use full force on fraud gang

Following the conviction of four men for fraud, West Midlands police have vowed to use the full power of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to identify and seize assets illegally acquired as part of the fraud.

The men had exploited a flaw in the credit reference checks exercised on companies, allowing them to order goods on credit including steel, luxury cars and mobile phones. The estimated worth of these goods surpasses £1million, including reported losses for Orange and Vodafone of more than £300,000 when taken together.

Once credit reference agencies began to suspect fraud, they alerted the economic fraud unit of the local police force, who were able to recover £300,000 worth of criminal property and arrest the gang responsible.

After their trial, Detective Chief Inspector Simon Wallis stated that a money laundering investigation to examine the mens finances was underway, saying, We will now use the full force of the Proceeds of Crime Act to seek to identify any assets gained by the gang members, and seek to confiscate these to compensate the victims of the fraud.

News « Proceeds of Crime Act probe launched on fraud gang

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