Southwark Crown Court Sentencing Results

Nicola Rowe, wife of Mark Rowe, was involved in the £28m timeshare fraud scheme operated under Sell My Timeshare from 2013. The couple bankrolled a lavish lifestyle with £8m paid into their personal accounts from defrauding over 3,500 vulnerable victims, many in their 70s and 80s, who were desperate to sell their timeshares. Victims were tricked into investing around £8,000 each for worthless credits while still owning their timeshares and incurring costs.

Paul Clarkson, aged 46, participated in a £6 million investment scam that targeted over 150 elderly victims. He was appointed as a group director of Equitable Law Capital despite lacking relevant experience and assisted in money laundering activities, which involved disguising funds from fraudulent investments made through Sable Intl Ltd, resulting in significant financial losses including one of £250,000.

Graham Milner, aged 55, participated in a £6 million investment scam targeting over 150 elderly people. He was involved in money laundering activities related to fraudulent investment schemes operated through Sable Intl Ltd and Equitable Law Capital, which used high-pressure sales, forged documents, and impersonation to defraud victims, leading to significant financial losses including one case of £250,000.

Muhammed Mustafa Darr, a Metropolitan Police officer, stole bank cards from two dead men, the two victims, and used one to purchase a Fitbit watch and Apple products worth £637. He also took a laptop and a Louis Vuitton bag from a suspect's vehicle, violating the bodies of the deceased.

Redinel Korfuzi, a £500,000 a year City analyst, made £1m through insider trading while working from home during the Coronavirus lockdown. He ran the scheme from the living room of his flat in Marylebone and provided information to his sister.

Adam Davies, a former Surrey Police constable based in Guildford, committed multiple offences between March and November 2020. On 19 March 2020, he improperly disclosed information about a prisoner's release to an associate. On 10 October 2020, he made and sent an indecent video to a member of an organised crime group. On 13 October 2020, he attempted to obtain details of an organised crime group member's arrest to pass to associates. On 6 November 2020, he failed to inform Hone Gym of lockdown closure requirements and made a false entry in a crime report. Separately, between October and December 2020, he received and forwarded racist and offensive images without challenge. On 22 August 2019, he took an indecent image of himself while on duty in uniform.

In October 2023, Arthur Clifton sprayed orange paint across the portico of University College London’s Wilkins Building, causing £21,000 worth of damage according to the Crown, to demand that the UK Government abandon plans for new oil and gas projects.

Ahmed Ebid, an Egyptian national living in Isleworth, south-west London, organised seven boat crossings across the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy between October 2022 and June 2023, carrying 3,781 migrants including women and children. The operation generated an estimated £12.3 million by charging each migrant around £3,200. Ebid sourced and provided boats and crews, offered technical advice during crossings, and helped house migrants and handle paperwork. He told an associate that migrants found with phones should be killed and thrown into the sea. He was arrested in June 2023 after investigators linked him to the crossings, and he later pleaded guilty to conspiracy to assist unlawful immigration. It was the first conviction of a UK-based person for organising Mediterranean boat crossings.

Between October 2022 and June 2023, Ahmed Ramadan Mohamad Ebid conspired with others outside the UK to assist unlawful immigration by supplying maritime vessels for smuggling thousands of migrants from Libya to Italy. The criminal network advertised crossings on Facebook, charging an average of £3,273 per person, and made over £12,300,000. Authorities intercepted seven crossings involving 3,781 migrants. Ebid sourced and provided boats and crews, offered technical advice during crossings, housed migrants prior to crossings, and handled paperwork. He was based in the UK but organised operations from north Africa.

Che Homersham, a former Met constable, pursued a 16-year-old girl he met while attending a domestic incident in December 2018. Over several weeks, he sent intimate messages and touched her inappropriately, leading to his arrest in December 2023.

Simon Lacey, a Keltbray manager, was convicted of receiving bribes totalling more than £600,000 from Arben Hysa between 2012 and 2018, breaching his obligations to his employer Keltbray.

Michael Dennis McCarthy, a Keltbray manager, was convicted of receiving bribes totalling more than £600,000 from Arben Hysa between 2012 and 2018, breaching his obligations to his employer Keltbray.

Arben Hysa was convicted of bribing three Keltbray managers, Michael McCarthy, Simon Lacey, and John Burke, between 2012 and 2018. The bribes totalled more than £600,000, allowing his company, Tony Demolition Workers Ltd, to benefit from contracts worth £15m.

John Burke, a Keltbray manager, was convicted of receiving bribes totalling more than £600,000 from Arben Hysa between 2012 and 2018, breaching his obligations to his employer Keltbray.

Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, former governor of Sevastopol in Crimea appointed by Vladimir Putin, circumvented UK sanctions under the Russia Regulations 2019 by having tens of thousands of pounds transferred into his newly opened Halifax Bank of Scotland account by his wife between February 2023 and January 2024, despite being prohibited from accessing funds even for basic necessities. The payments totalled around £76,000 in instalments including £1,000 and three of £25,000. No attempt was made to disguise the transactions. He was also convicted of possessing and using criminal property.

Dmitrii Ovsyannikov, a former governor of Sevastopol and Deputy Minister in Russia, was subject to UK financial sanctions since November 2017. After acquiring a British passport in January 2023, he moved to London and opened a Halifax bank account on 6 February 2023. His wife transferred £1,000 on 8 February, followed by £75,000 after he attempted to purchase a £54,000 Mercedes Benz GLC 300 on 22 February. His brother Alexei purchased the car for his use. Alexei also left his debit card for Dmitrii to use in shops and paid £17,000 in private school fees for his children in May 2024. All transactions breached the sanctions regime.

Alexei Ovsyannikov, brother of Dmitrii Ovsyannikov, assisted in breaching financial sanctions by purchasing a £54,000 Mercedes Benz GLC 300 for his brother's use after Dmitrii's accounts were frozen. He left his debit card for Dmitrii to use in shops around Clapham and Balham, and in May 2024 paid £17,000 in private school fees on behalf of his brother for his children.

Alexei Owsjanikow, brother of Dmitrii Ovsiannikov, circumvented UK sanctions by paying school fees totalling £41,027 for his sibling's children, assisting in breach of the asset freeze imposed under the Russia Regulations 2019 between February 2023 and January 2024.

Between 30 December 2021 and 12 March 2022, Olumide Osunkoya operated crypto ATMs at 28 different locations via his company, GidiPlus Ltd, despite being refused registration with the FCA. He later transferred the machines and personally operated a reduced network of up to 12 crypto ATMs under a false name and company to evade detection. He failed to carry out necessary checks to prevent use by criminals for money laundering. He was also convicted of forgery (creating 4 false bank statements), using false identity documents to incorporate a company, and possessing £19,540 of criminal property.

Lee Hudson was an office worker who conducted the day-to-day business enabling a construction company fraud. The company invoiced customer companies for labour including VAT but failed to pay VAT and Construction Industry Scheme contributions to HMRC, diverting the money to defendants' bank accounts and causing an estimated £22 million loss to the taxpayer.

Kevin Ratcliffe was a customer company director who received cash kickbacks in exchange for providing business to a construction company involved in a £22 million fraud against the taxpayer. The company failed to pay VAT and Construction Industry Scheme contributions to HMRC and diverted the unpaid sums to defendants' bank accounts.

Sean Dean was a lead conspirator in a scheme involving a construction company that invoiced customer companies for labour including VAT, then failed to pay VAT and Construction Industry Scheme contributions to HMRC. The unpaid sums were diverted to defendants' bank accounts, causing an estimated £22 million loss to the taxpayer.

Sarah Gillard, partner of Philip Bailey, functioned as a cash courier and laundered proceeds of the £22 million fraud through her bank accounts, where the construction company diverted unpaid VAT and CIS contributions instead of paying them to HMRC.

Philip Bailey, a lead conspirator, helped establish, maintain, and develop the fraudulent scheme involving a construction core company that pocketed £22 million in unpaid VAT and CIS contributions instead of paying them to HMRC. Fake payroll companies were created and operated by Bailey and others; his partner Sarah Gillard laundered proceeds through her bank account.

Daniel Newton was involved in setting up a building construction core company which invoiced customer companies for the supply of labour, including VAT. The company did not pay the VAT and Construction Industry Scheme contributions to HMRC, diverting the money to defendants' bank accounts. He was a lead conspirator responsible for establishing, maintaining and developing the fraudulent scheme, which caused an estimated £22 million loss to the Government and taxpayer.

Bradley Mortimer functioned as a cash courier for money laundering in a £22 million construction industry fraud. He laundered proceeds through bank accounts as part of an organised crime group involved in failing to pay VAT and Construction Industry Scheme contributions to HMRC and diverting the money instead.

Mohammad Siddiqui, a former NHS paediatrician, performed unsafe and barbaric circumcisions on young boys over a five-year period, charging £250-£300 per procedure in patients' family homes, often on dining room tables in Bristol and other locations. He used inadequate anaesthesia like cream or banned Bupivacaine Hydrochloride, failed to wash hands or sanitise tools, strapped children to boards, and caused severe pain and injury, including one case where a boy's penis 'exploded' nearly causing death. He ignored five police arrests and warnings, maximising profits by cutting corners, leading to unnecessary pain, suffering, and risk. Police found rusty tools with human skin traces in his car. He initially denied 39 charges but admitted 25 during the two-month trial.

Parvez Patel, 34, of Ilford, assaulted a sex worker at her home in Westminster on 29th January 2024, inflicting severe injuries including a broken nose. Neighbours heard screams, called police, and he was arrested at the scene.