Southwark Crown Court Sentencing Results

Anna Holland and Phoebe Plummer threw tins of tomato soup over Vincent van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” painting at the National Gallery in October 2022, causing criminal damage exceeding £5,000, although the painting was protected by glass and unharmed. They conducted reconnaissance and planning, and spoke to a journalist.

Daniel Hall, along with Phoebe Plummer and Chiara Sarti, participated in a slow-march protest along Earls Court Road near the A4 in west London, walking slowly to cause long tailbacks from the Hammersmith flyover, disrupting traffic including an ambulance with a patient in critical care, delivery drivers, buses, and commuters. The incident caused alarm and distress and was described as pointless, self-absorbed, and self-righteous law-breaking under the Public Order Act 2023.

Chiara Sarti, along with Phoebe Plummer and Daniel Hall, participated in a slow-march protest along Earls Court Road near the A4 in west London, walking slowly to cause long tailbacks from the Hammersmith flyover, disrupting traffic including an ambulance with a patient in critical care, delivery drivers, buses, and commuters. The incident caused alarm and distress and was described as pointless, self-absorbed, and self-righteous law-breaking under the Public Order Act 2023.

Harrison Barnett, 19, of Basildon, helped Tieran Carmody evade police after the murder of the victim on August 21, 2023, by providing shelter and allowing him to use his mobile phone to contact friends and family and conduct internet searches related to the crime and escape plans. CCTV captured them at a shop in Pitsea and leaving a pub in Benfleet in the days following the murder.

Adam Taylor, a former National Crime Agency intelligence officer, used his work devices to access, view, and download over 700 indecent images of children and more than 200 images of extreme pornography between May 2012 and April 2022. He was arrested in April 2022 at his place of work, where electronic devices including laptops, tablets, and USBs were seized from both his workplace and home. Despite expressing interest in specializing in Child Sexual Exploitation work, his role did not require access to such material. The images found included some of the most horrific sexual abuse of children, and his actions constituted a gross breach of trust as a public officer employed by the NCA since 2014.

Neil Pursell, as finance director of Winnington Networks Ltd, was involved in a complex £20m carousel VAT fraud between 2011 and 2014. The fraud involved deliberately understating VAT owed to HMRC by creating fictitious deal chains, fake VOIP services, and offshore banking platforms to offset VAT claims. Evidence included recordings from hotel meetings in Manchester and Birmingham in late 2013 where he discussed inventing numbers to dupe HMRC. The operation led to arrests in March 2014.

Vishal Chudasama, 42, of Olney, was a key player in the £20m carousel VAT fraud by Winnington Networks Ltd between 2011 and 2014. The fraud involved creating fake VAT offsets through MTIC schemes, including fictitious VOIP services and deal chains to dupe HMRC. He participated in conspiratorial meetings in Manchester and Birmingham in late 2013. The investigation culminated in arrests in March 2014.

William Lindfield, 63, of Kingston Hill, Cheadle, played a key role in the £20m VAT fraud orchestrated by Winnington Networks Ltd from 2011 to 2014. The scheme used MTIC fraud methods, generating VAT through fake transactions in metals and electrical items, then offsetting it with fictitious VOIP sales. He was involved in discussions at hotel meetings in 2013 about inventing numbers to mislead HMRC. Arrested in March 2014 as part of Operation Barbados.

On May 25, 2023, at Speakers' Corner in Hyde Park, London, Ahmed Mohammed, a 35-year-old Sudanese asylum seeker who arrived in the UK in 2012, threatened the Christian preacher with a knife after dragging him off a ladder. Mohammed had asked the Christian preacher about his life, and upon the Christian preacher's religious response, became angry and attempted to drag him down. He fled but returned with a knife, stating 'I am going to stab you.' He was quickly arrested. Weeks prior, he confessed to three counts of theft from a Sainsbury’s store in London. Several people, including Muslims aware of Mohammed, tried to dissuade the Christian preacher from calling the police.

Between 2004 and 2008, while employed at the Ministry of Defence and on secondment, Jeffrey Cook arranged a public contract commissioning reports from offshore company ME Consultants, which was paid about £700,000. Cook received kickbacks of more than £44,000 in cash and two cars worth £30,000, totaling over £70,000. He initially lied to the Serious Fraud Office, claiming the money was for business trip expenses in Saudi Arabia.

Denis Kupcevich, a 43-year-old Belarusian national, operated from a flat in South Croydon and various hotels and short-term lets in London and Poole. He used stolen identities, including those of a Moldovan and a Bulgarian national, to create fake documents, open bank accounts, and launder hundreds of thousands of pounds from frauds committed against bank customers. His associates used social engineering tactics over the phone to deceive victims, such as convincing one couple to transfer £160,000 due to a fake security risk and another to pay £12,400 for a non-existent BMW. Kupcevich created a fake real estate agency 'Look4 Home' through which over £55,000 was laundered, and stole the identity of a legitimate childcare company to deposit fraudulent proceeds. He acted as a cashing out facilitator, retaining 40% of the stolen funds. NCA officers tracked him via Deliveroo orders to his aliases and arrested him in May 2022, seizing devices with evidence of illegal transactions. The investigation prevented over £2 million in further frauds.

Michael Pym-Nixson, 54, stockpiled explosive substances including ingredients for Armstrong’s Mixture and black powder at his home in Kingston-upon-Thames. On March 19, 2021, paramedics were called after he sustained three deep burns to his right hand while handling dangerous chemicals, claiming it was from an old firework. He refused to show the item and later lied to police about the cause. A six-day search from March 22, 2021, accompanied by Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit, uncovered hazardous materials capable of producing 308g of Armstrong’s Mixture and 6,110g of Gunpowder. He claimed the chemicals were for survivalist purposes and food preservation. Evidence included a YouTube playlist on making explosives, a notebook of recipes, and a book titled The Do it Yourself Gunpowder Cookbook.

Oliver Mark, 40, of Stratford, was involved in possessing and supplying handguns and ammunition as part of a London-based organised crime group. On 12 October 2020, he provided a black BMW 5 Series used by Artem Kuts to transport a brown paper bag containing a Russian brand Baikal self-loading pistol and eight rounds of Makarov ammunition, found in the rear passenger footwell when armed officers stopped the car. Mark was arrested for possession of a firearm.

Artem Kuts, 39, of the Isle of Dogs, was involved in possessing and supplying handguns and ammunition as part of a London-based organised crime group. On 12 October 2020, NCA surveillance teams watched as Kuts left his home carrying a brown paper bag and got into a black BMW 5 Series registered to Oliver Mark. The bag contained a Russian brand Baikal self-loading pistol and eight rounds of Makarov ammunition, found in the rear passenger footwell when armed officers stopped the car. A search of Kuts’ home revealed two more Baikals and 14 rounds of ammunition hidden in the garden, packaged heavily and wedged in the corner between the wall and a garden storage unit.

Jack Gibson, aged 28, met a well-known public figure online who struggles with gender identity and had adopted a female persona during chats. On April 22, 2020, the victim invited Gibson to his London apartment for a late-night rendezvous around 4am. Upon realizing the victim's prominence, Gibson took pictures and videos of him in women's clothing, then threatened to leak them to the press and reveal details of his sexuality unless paid money. The victim transferred £150, but Gibson demanded more, contacted the victim's wife to disclose the events and the man's gender struggles, and attempted to extort £8,500 from the victim's wealthy businessman father to keep the private life secret. Gibson had just been released from prison and was living in a Victoria hotel at the time.

Chris Denning abused eleven boys, some as young as eight, in multiple sex offences. He had taken some victims to Top of the Pops recordings and introduced them to Jimmy Savile, even abusing one boy at Savile’s home. The offences occurred across the UK and Europe, with Denning having prior convictions for similar crimes dating back to 1959 in Germany and in the 1990s in Prague.

Ashok Mahajan attacked a barrister, a solicitor, and a pupil barrister by throwing hydrochloric acid at them in the High Court on October 15, 2009, after his race discrimination claim was dismissed. He smuggled the acid in a medicine bottle past security, causing burns to the victims, including a burned eye and melted clothing. Mahajan had a history of courtroom outbursts and believed he was targeted by a 'Nazi' plot by the legal profession.

Mayowa Christopher was part of an organised group that tricked trade customers and individuals into paying money into wrong bank accounts by pretending to work for their bank or legitimate businesses. Linked to offences including one in July 2019 where a woman was defrauded of £4,200 after scammers demonstrated knowledge of her direct debits and sent fake emails with one-time passwords. Also linked to two other victims losing £7,369 total, with evidence of his computer used to access accounts and bank cards used to launder money.

Michael Konnor headed a gang that laundered £23.4 million between January 2018 and June 2020. Despite arrest in December 2019, he continued laundering over £4.5 million using companies and third-party accounts. Incriminating EncroChat messages discussed kidnap and extortion in the context of cash collection.

Martyn Dodgson, a senior investment banker employed by Morgan Stanley, Lehman Brothers and Deutsche Bank, conspired with Andrew Hind to commit insider dealing between November 2006 and March 2010. Dodgson sourced inside information from the investment banks and passed it to Hind, who carried out secret dealing for their mutual benefit. The pair used unregistered mobile phones, encoded records and cash payments to avoid detection. The FCA proved five specific acts of insider dealing involving Scottish & Newcastle plc, Paragon Group of Companies plc, Just Retirement plc, Legal & General plc and BSkyB plc.

Mark Lyttleton, a former Equity Portfolio Manager at BlackRock Investment Management (UK) Limited, used inside information obtained through his employment to instruct trades via a Panamanian company (Huduno Invest S.A.) set up in his wife’s maiden name. He traded in EnCore Oil Plc shares (realising profits of £44,125) and Cairn Energy Plc call options in 2011, concealing the activity with unregistered phones and cash payments. He was arrested in 2013 following an FCA investigation.