Southwark Crown Court Sentencing Results

Explore 257 verdicts at Southwark Crown Court (London). Updated with the latest court outcomes.

June 2024 1 case

Rasib Ghaffar

Conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation *

Sentence

3 years imprisonment

Rasib Ghaffar, a barrister and part-time immigration tribunal judge, conspired with Gazi Khan, Azar Khan, and Joseph Kyeremeh to defraud the Legal Aid Agency by falsely claiming defence legal costs through inflated fees and work in 2011 and 2012. The fraud involved four claims totaling £1,856,584 for Defendants’ Costs Orders on behalf of acquitted defendants, with £469,477 paid out. Ghaffar was responsible for a fee note of £184,000 for over 350 hours of work, despite being instructed only seven days before the case conclusion.

Conspired with others to inflate legal fees and falsely claim defence costs from the Legal Aid Agency in 2011 and 2012. Convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation.

21 Jun 2024

May 2024 1 case

Jian Wen

Money laundering *

Sentence

six years and eight months imprisonment

Jian Wen was involved in assisting Zhimin Qian to launder proceeds from a large-scale fraud in China by facilitating the movement of a cryptocurrency wallet containing 150 Bitcoin, which was valued at £1.7 million at the time, as part of an ongoing investigation into international money laundering.

Pleaded guilty and was involved in facilitating the movement of a cryptocurrency wallet containing 150 Bitcoin valued at £1.7 million.

22 May 2024

April 2024 6 cases

Lee Richards

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

two years imprisonment suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work

Lee Richards, a former lance sergeant from Amesbury, made over 100 fraudulent claims between March 2015 and January 2016, involving £434,825, by manipulating the Ministry of Defence’s online platform for expenses and allowances after being approached by Aaron Stelmach-Purdie.

Convicted of more than 100 fraudulent claims and retained approximately £160,000. He was approached by Stelmach-Purdie due to pressure and worked as a storeman at the barracks.

15 Apr 2024

Anthony Sharwood

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

15 months imprisonment suspended for two years and 100 hours of unpaid work

Anthony Sharwood, from Bromsgrove, was involved in eight fraudulent expenses claims totalling £28,935 between January 2015 and November 2015, as part of a scheme manipulating the Ministry of Defence’s Joint Personnel Administration system.

A former corporal in the Royal Marines who retired in January of the current year, involved in eight fraudulent claims.

15 Apr 2024

Aaron Stelmach-Purdie

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

Three years and four months imprisonment

Aaron Stelmach-Purdie, a 34-year-old from Oldham, made fraudulent claims on the Joint Personnel Administration system for operational allowances, subsistence allowances, and air fares, stealing nearly £1 million by involving others and using their bank accounts to hide the money between November 2014 and January 2016.

Judge Philip Bartle KC noted he had a leading role in the fraud and was central to the offences, having previously been a successful soldier.

15 Apr 2024

Allan O’Neil

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

12-month community order and 100 hours unpaid work

Allan O’Neil, a 48-year-old military sergeant employed at Regent’s Park Barracks, helped defraud the Ministry of Defence by allowing false claims to be passed through his bank account, resulting in £6,615.80 being stolen through fraudulent activities on the Joint Personnel Administration system between November 2014 and January 2016.

Sentenced by Judge Philip Bartle KC for money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud.

15 Apr 2024

Peter Wilson

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

two years imprisonment suspended for two years and 200 hours of unpaid work

Peter Wilson, a former lance sergeant who retired from the Army in October 2015, was involved in a fraud scheme at the Ministry of Defence. He had £378,662.26 pass through his bank account, retaining £149,781. The fraud involved manipulating the Joint Personnel Administration system for expenses and allowances between 2014 and 2016, using coded texts for money transfers.

Admitted to conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering. He has Charcot–Marie–Tooth disease and works at a ground maintenance company. The judge noted his potential as a Paralympian.

15 Apr 2024

Roger Clerice

Conspiracy to commit fraud and money laundering *

Sentence

12 months imprisonment suspended for two years and 100 hours of unpaid work

Roger Clerice, a former sergeant from Colchester, was involved in the fraud at the Ministry of Defence’s administrative headquarters. He participated in manipulating the Joint Personnel Administration system for fraudulent expenses and allowances between 2014 and 2016.

Worked as a sergeant and Stelmach-Purdie’s line manager, receiving £11,278.90 from the fraud.

15 Apr 2024

March 2024 7 cases

William Todd

Conspiring to pervert the course of justice *

Sentence

7 years imprisonment

William Todd, 61, serving two life sentences since 2001 for attempted murder and murder, orchestrated a scheme from prison to undermine the convictions of Danny Brown and Stefan Baldauf for smuggling 448kg of MDMA worth £45m. In June 2022, he directed Danny Thomas to record jurors' names at Kingston Crown Court and attempt bribes. After failure, in August 2022, he recruited Sheree Avard to fabricate a juror tampering story using the alias Ioana Andrei, including a fake deposition from Romania, to quash the convictions.

Convicted by a jury of conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Orchestrated the plot from prison while serving two life sentences for prior crimes.

16 Mar 2024

Sheree Avard

Conspiring to pervert the course of justice *

Sentence

1 year imprisonment

Sheree Avard, 41, of Hammond Road, Woking, was recruited by William Todd and Danny Thomas in August 2022 to phone Kingston Crown Court for details of solicitors for Danny Brown and Stefan Baldauf. Using the alias Ioana Andrei, she contacted Brown's lawyer claiming a relationship with a juror who confessed to being pressured into convicting the men, along with two others. The conspirators paid for a fake passport and a corrupt solicitor in Romania to provide a false deposition to quash the drug trafficking convictions.

Admitted conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

16 Mar 2024

Danny Thomas

Conspiring to pervert the course of justice *

Sentence

3 years and 4 months imprisonment

Danny Thomas, 46, of Skylark Way, Shinfield, Reading, entered Kingston Crown Court when the jury was sworn in during the trial of Danny Brown and Stefan Baldauf in June 2022, recorded jurors' names, and left. Under orders from William Todd, he attempted to bribe jurors and later, with Sheree Avard, fabricated a story about juror tampering by contacting the solicitor using the alias Ioana Andrei, claiming a juror was pressured to convict. They created a fake deposition from Romania to undermine the convictions for smuggling 448kg of MDMA.

Admitted conspiring to pervert the course of justice. Claimed in interview he was given money to approach jurors and offer bribes.

16 Mar 2024

Kamlesh Vaghjiani

Falsifying pharmaceutical data *

Sentence

Eight months and seven months suspended for 18 months

Kamlesh Vaghjiani, former director and quality assurance manager at Kappin, deliberately falsified data on the shelf life of the company's liquid levothyroxine product, Evotrox Oral Solutions. This included providing false data for pH and assay values in the licence application for three strengths in May 2006, and false chromatography data during a quality evaluation in November 2011. The MHRA investigation, launched in 2008 following reports of instability, revealed continued falsification, leading to withdrawal of marketing authorisations in 2013 and prosecution. No evidence of patient harm, but substandard product was supplied.

Concurrent sentences. Pleaded guilty to all counts in October last year. Fined £50,000. Company Kappin also fined £50,000 and ordered to pay £82,262 prosecution costs. Previously paid £1,075,589 confiscation order on profits.

15 Mar 2024

Vishal Chudasama

Conspiracy to cheat the public revenue *

Sentence

3 years and 6 months imprisonment

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.

Sentenced in both March 2024 and October 2025 trials, but consistent sentence reported.

1 Mar 2024

William Lindfield

Conspiracy to cheat the public revenue *

Sentence

7 years and 6 months imprisonment

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.

Disqualified from acting as a director for 8 years. Sentenced in both March 2024 and October 2025 trials, but consistent sentence reported.

1 Mar 2024

Neil Pursell

Conspiracy to cheat the public revenue *

Sentence

9 years imprisonment

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.

Former finance director of Winnington Networks Ltd. Disqualified from acting as a director for 14 years. Handed a 19-month Serious Crime Prevention Order upon release.

1 Mar 2024

February 2024 1 case

Ahmed Mohammed

Threatening a person with an offensive weapon in public *

Sentence

22 months imprisonment, suspended for two years

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 Christian preacher Daniel Ayettey with a knife after dragging him off a ladder. Mohammed had asked Ayettey about his life, and upon Ayettey'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 Ayettey from calling the police.

Pleaded guilty to threatening a person with an offensive weapon in public. Judge Martin Griffith noted his shocking record of 29 previous convictions for 67 offences. Accepted eight months already spent in custody. Must attend 30 days rehabilitation activities and six months alcohol treatment. Banned from Westminster and from consuming drugs and alcohol. No fine due to lack of money. Progress check on April 10.

10 Feb 2024

January 2024 1 case

E

Failing to notify creditors under Companies Act 2006 *

Sentence

Community order

E, a company director, failed to notify creditors of an application to voluntarily strike off a company with the intent to conceal that application, contrary to s.1006 of the Companies Act 2006.

Company director who accepted a basis of plea for failing to notify creditors of an application to voluntarily strike off a company with intent to conceal that application, contrary to s.1006 of the Companies Act 2006. Avoided disqualification from acting as a company director.

1 Jan 2024

December 2023 2 cases

Frederic Marino

Fraud by abuse of position of trust *

Sentence

seven and a half years in prison

Frederic Marino and Aurelien Bessot set up a hedge fund in London called FM Capital Partners Ltd in 2009, with offices in Knightsbridge, and were involved in a £11.4m fraud involving the Libyan sovereign wealth fund. The fraud involved abuse of position of trust. Marino has been on the run in Europe since 2019.

Found guilty by jury on 16 December for fraud by abuse of position of trust; on the run in France since 2019; sentenced in absentia.

17 Dec 2023

Yoshika Ohmura

Fraud by abuse of position of trust *

Sentence

three and a half years in prison

Yoshika Ohmura was involved in a £11.4m fraud with Frederic Marino and others, involving the Libyan sovereign wealth fund through abuse of position of trust at the London hedge fund FM Capital Partners Ltd, set up in 2009 with offices in Knightsbridge. She has been on the run in Europe since 2019.

Found guilty by jury on 16 December for fraud by abuse of position of trust; on the run in Switzerland since 2019; sentenced in absentia.

17 Dec 2023

October 2023 3 cases

Ronald Alexander

Robbery *

Sentence

16 years imprisonment with minimum term of 12 years and 4 years on licence

Ronald Alexander, 49, of Netherwood Road W14, committed six knife point robberies at high street gambling shops in West London between May and August 2018. He targeted locations including Palace Amusements in Kilburn (twice), Cashino in Hammersmith and Tooting, Silvertime Casino in Edgware Road, and City Slots in North End Road. He wore the same clothes during each offence, allowing identification via CCTV. Alexander had recently been released from prison for similar offences and used frightening and aggressive techniques, mainly targeting women working alone, some attacked more than once. He was arrested on 8 May 2019 and charged the following day, leaving victims traumatised.

Found guilty of six counts of robbery and six counts of possession of a bladed article. Judge commended investigating officer PC Usman Choudhary for his tenacity.

25 Oct 2023

Jeffrey Cook

Misconduct in public office *

Sentence

30 months imprisonment

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.

Ordered to pay a confiscation order of £124,000 and a contribution to prosecution costs of £25,000. Pleaded that money was expenses but later accepted commissions, arguing they were authorised. Judge noted personal gain at expense of public purse. Defence sought suspended sentence due to age, good character, and 12-year prosecution toll, but judge deemed it longer than 2 years.

13 Oct 2023

Bernie Ecclestone

Fraud *

Sentence

Suspended sentence

Bernie Ecclestone admitted fraud in October 2023 after failing to declare £400 million.

Plea guilty to fraud after failing to declare £400 million.

12 Oct 2023

May 2023 2 cases

Nabeil Nasr

Illegal supply of controlled drugs *

Sentence

Suspended sentence; 200 hours unpaid work; £606,247 confiscation

Nabeil Nasr, owner of several pharmacies in the North-West of England, illegally supplied over 55 million doses of Class C controlled drugs, including 47 million doses of diazepam, between May 2013 and June 2017 for financial gain, and engaged in wholesale dealing without a licence.

Pleaded guilty to illegal supply of controlled drugs and wholesale dealing without a licence. Struck off by General Pharmaceutical Council in February following fitness to practise hearing. Did not engage substantially with the hearing.

1 May 2023

Mandip Kaur Sidhu

Illegal supply of controlled drugs *

Sentence

Suspended sentence; 200 hours unpaid work; £720,881 confiscation

Mandip Kaur Sidhu, director of Pharmaceutical Health Limited in Derby, illegally supplied over 55 million doses of Class C controlled drugs, including 47 million doses of diazepam and millions of zopiclone, between May 2013 and June 2017 for financial gain. She purchased millions of tablets over a four-year period without legally dispensing medicines against a prescription since July 2013 and fabricated an invoice to deceive MHRA officers.

Pleaded guilty to illegal supply of controlled drugs. Struck off by General Pharmaceutical Council in February following fitness to practise hearing.

1 May 2023

April 2023 1 case

Denis Kupcevich

Money laundering *

Sentence

3 years and 4 months imprisonment

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.

Pleaded guilty to one count of money laundering, two counts of possession of identity documents with improper intention and one count of articles for use in fraud. Will be deported to Belarus after serving his sentence.

11 Apr 2023

February 2023 1 case

David Carrick

Rape *

Sentence

30 years and 239 days imprisonment

David Carrick, a former Metropolitan Police officer from Stevenage, committed a series of serious sexual assaults, including rape, against 12 victims over 17 years. He was unmasked as one of the UK's most prolific sex offenders.

Pleaded guilty to 48 offences including rape, false imprisonment, sexual assault and coercive control over a 17-year period. Victim impact statements detailed harrowing effects of abuse.

7 Feb 2023

December 2022 1 case

Rizwan Sami

Theft *

Sentence

Not stated

Rizwan Sami, 37, an accountant, stole £150,000 from Egmont UK Ltd, the British arm of Danish media giant Egmont Group and publisher of children's classics including Tintin, Fireman Sam, Thomas & Friends, and books by Michael Morpurgo, over a period of more than a year.

Spared jail after agreeing to pay back the stolen £150,000. Sent some of the money to elderly relatives in Pakistan.

14 Dec 2022

July 2022 1 case

Michael Stainer

Fraud *

Sentence

3 years imprisonment

Michael Stainer, a 74-year-old landlord and chartered accountant, defrauded HMRC out of £473,097 by deducting PAYE and National Insurance contributions from his employees' wages at The Grand on Folkestone seafront between 2006 and 2010, but failing to remit the funds. The Grand primarily consisted of leasehold apartments, hotel rooms, bars, and restaurants. After a visit by revenue officials, he attempted submissions, but the company's PAYE account had been cancelled due to inactivity. Stainer owned the property for over 40 years but was declared bankrupt along with his wife.

Found guilty of two counts of cheating the public revenue and one of fraud by false representation. Judge Gregory Perins commented that Stainer deducted PAYE and National Insurance from low-wage employees' pay but pocketed the money instead of passing it to HMRC.

18 Jul 2022

May 2022 1 case

Imran Ahmad Khan

Sexual assault *

Sentence

18 months imprisonment

In 2008, at a party, Imran Ahmad Khan forced a 15-year-old boy to drink gin, took him upstairs, pushed him onto a bed, asked him to watch pornography, and sexually assaulted him. The victim felt scared, vulnerable, numb, shocked, and surprised but did not report it immediately. The memories resurfaced in 2019 during Khan's General Election campaign.

Found guilty after trial. Appealed against sentence and conviction, but both were upheld. Judge Jeremy Baker commented on the significant degree of brutality and that the defendant showed regret only for himself.

1 May 2022

April 2022 2 cases

Boris Becker

Bankruptcy fraud *

Sentence

30 months imprisonment

Boris Becker was declared bankrupt on June 21, 2017, owing creditors almost £50 million, primarily over an unpaid loan of more than £3 million on his estate in Majorca, Spain. Between June 21 and October 3, 2017, he hid £2.5 million of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts, including transferring almost 427,000 euros (around £390,000) from his business account to others, such as his ex-wife Lilly Becker and his other ex-wife Barbara Feltus.

Convicted of four offences under the Insolvency Act. Will serve half of the sentence. Judge Deborah Taylor presided.

29 Apr 2022

Michael Pym-Nixson

Possession of explosive substances *

Sentence

3.5 years imprisonment

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.

Pleaded guilty to two counts of having an explosive substance. Serious Crime Prevention Order for 5 years upon release.

5 Apr 2022

October 2021 3 cases

Oliver Mark

Possession and supply of firearms *

Sentence

8 years imprisonment

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.

Found guilty following a seven-day trial.

1 Oct 2021

Alexander Georgiev

Conspiring to supply a firearm *

Sentence

6 years imprisonment

Alexander Georgiev (also known as Ernis Piranej), 26, of no fixed abode, was involved in conspiring to supply handguns and ammunition as part of a London-based organised crime group. On 12 October 2020, he was seen getting in and out of a black BMW 5 Series several times carrying a brown paper bag that contained a Russian brand Baikal self-loading pistol and eight rounds of Makarov ammunition. He was arrested for conspiring to supply a firearm minutes after the car was stopped, as he attempted to flee in a blue BMW.

Pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing.

1 Oct 2021

Artem Kuts

Possession and supply of firearms *

Sentence

15 years imprisonment

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.

Found guilty following a seven-day trial.

1 Oct 2021

January 2021 1 case

R V S

Transferring criminal property *

Sentence

Suspended sentence

Secured a suspended sentence for a woman charged with transferring criminal property in excess of £250,000.

Charged with transferring criminal property in excess of £250,000.

1 Jan 2021

October 2020 1 case

Jack Gibson

Blackmail *

Sentence

2 years and 9 months imprisonment

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.

Admitted two counts of blackmail, possession of cocaine and possession of cannabis. Judge commented that it is the exploitation of human frailty that makes blackmail such a dreadful crime. Mitigating factors include struggles with anger issues, drug abuse, and living in temporary accommodation during lockdown.

13 Oct 2020

February 2020 1 case

Samina Khan

Theft by employment *

Sentence

Two years imprisonment suspended for two years and 250 hours community service

Samina Khan, employed as a bookkeeper and secretary for Landmark and Duram Properties, stole £1,185,955 from her employers over a 13-year period from 2004 by fiddling the books, forging signatures, and destroying cheque books. She used the stolen funds to purchase luxury cars such as Aston Martins, BMWs, Porsches, and Audis, as well as personalised number plates. The thefts were discovered in 2017 when a suspicious transaction was noticed, leading to her admission. She claimed the thefts began to repay her husband's debts and provide for her child, though the offending predated the child's birth. The Murad family felt utterly betrayed by her actions.

Pleaded guilty to the charges. The judge noted her remorse and family circumstances, including her husband's mental health issues and the potential impact on her son, as reasons for suspending the sentence.

17 Feb 2020

January 2020 2 cases

Himat Chana

Tax Fraud *

Sentence

52 months in jail

Himat Chana, 59, of Ilford, Essex, along with Madhu Bhajanehatti, bought and sold over 50 properties across London and Essex over an eight-year period, deliberately hiding the sales on their Self-Assessment tax returns to evade £991,000 in Capital Gains Tax. The fraud was uncovered by a HMRC property taskforce. They built their property portfolios using proceeds from previous sales.

Convicted after trial in August 2019. Confiscation proceedings ongoing. Evaded £341,000 in Capital Gains Tax.

17 Jan 2020

Madhu Bhajanehatti

Tax Fraud *

Sentence

50 months in jail

Madhu Bhajanehatti, 45, of London, along with Himat Chana, bought and sold over 50 properties across London and Essex over an eight-year period, deliberately hiding the sales on their Self-Assessment tax returns to evade £991,000 in Capital Gains Tax. The fraud was uncovered by a HMRC property taskforce. They built their property portfolios using proceeds from previous sales.

Admitted the fraud during a hearing in June 2019. Ordered to pay back £190,086.42 in a confiscation order, with less than three months to pay or face a further two years and six months in jail. Evaded £650,000 in Capital Gains Tax.

17 Jan 2020

July 2019 1 case

Jason Abraham

Robbery *

Sentence

over seven years imprisonment

Jason Abraham, 23, was involved in a violent robbery at Amir Jewellers in Maida Vale in May 2019, where seven men stole more than £160,000 worth of Arabic jewellery using blades and hammers. He was held by members of the public after the heist.

Found guilty of stealing more than £160,000 worth of jewellery. One of seven men who raided the shop armed with blades and hammers.

5 Jul 2019

March 2017 2 cases

Laylah De Cruz

Property fraud *

Sentence

5 years imprisonment

Laylah De Cruz, along with her mother Dianne Moorcroft, helped a Dubai-based gang make a false £1.2 million application for a bridging loan by taking the identity of a deceased Kensington landlady. The gang identified a rental property belonging to the deceased landlady and rented it using false papers. De Cruz assisted her mother in changing her name by Deed Poll to the landlady’s name. The property on Eagle Place in Kensington was then put on the market, and posing as the deceased owner, the application for the £1.2 million bridging loan was made and granted. The funds were transferred to Dubai and have not been traced. De Cruz was arrested on her return from Dubai in May 2016.

Denied the fraud during trial. Part of a gang, the rest of whom are still being sought.

17 Mar 2017

Dianne Moorcroft

Property fraud *

Sentence

3 years imprisonment

Dianne Moorcroft, along with her daughter Laylah De Cruz, helped a Dubai-based gang make a false £1.2 million application for a bridging loan by taking the identity of a deceased Kensington landlady. The gang identified a rental property belonging to the deceased landlady and rented it using false papers. With the help of her daughter, Moorcroft changed her name by Deed Poll to the landlady’s name. She later put the property on Eagle Place in Kensington on the market and, posing as the millionaire but actually deceased owner, applied for a bridging loan of £1.2 million, which was granted. The funds were transferred to Dubai and have not been traced. Moorcroft was arrested at her Blackpool home in February 2015.

Denied the fraud during trial. Part of a gang, the rest of whom are still being sought.

17 Mar 2017

August 2016 3 cases

Andrew Rickard

Fraud *

Sentence

18 months suspended

Andrew Rickard, along with Adam Coote and Sahila Kauser, participated in a fraudulent letting agency scam that involved establishing false agencies to approach landlords, secure property access, show properties to prospective tenants, and collect advance rent payments before disappearing. The group stole more than £26,500 from landlords and tenants in locations including London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Walsall.

Accomplice in the fraud operation.

5 Aug 2016

Adam Coote

Fraud *

Sentence

28 months imprisonment

Adam Coote posed as a letting agent using fake agencies such as Belgravia Property Group, Mayfair Residential, and Park Lane Residential to con landlords and tenants out of tens of thousands of pounds. The operation involved approaching landlords selling properties online, securing access and keys, showing properties to prospective tenants, and persuading tenants to pay up to six months' rent in advance before informing them they failed credit checks and absconding with the money. The fraud targeted properties in London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Walsall, stealing more than £26,500 in total. The activity started four years prior after Coote's release from a previous prison sentence, and was discovered by police following a tip-off.

Repeat offender; previously imprisoned for four years for a similar scam in Liverpool and Manchester. Judge Jeffrey Pegden QC noted it was a persistent and significantly planned fraud.

5 Aug 2016

Sahila Kauser

Fraud *

Sentence

18 months suspended

Sahila Kauser, along with Adam Coote and Andrew Rickard, participated in a fraudulent letting agency scam that involved establishing false agencies to approach landlords, secure property access, show properties to prospective tenants, and collect advance rent payments before disappearing. The group stole more than £26,500 from landlords and tenants in locations including London, Bristol, Birmingham, and Walsall.

Accomplice in the fraud operation.

5 Aug 2016

January 2016 1 case

Chris Denning

Sexual offences against children *

Sentence

13 years imprisonment

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.

Admitted to abusing eleven boys, some as young as eight. Judge Alistair McCreath called him 'utterly depraved'. Concurrent with previous 13-year sentence for 40 offences against 24 boys.

1 Jan 2016

September 2014 1 case

Dave Lee Travis

Indecent assault *

Sentence

Not stated

Dave Lee Travis was convicted in September 2014 for indecent assault.

Found guilty of indecent assault.

23 Sep 2014

July 2014 1 case

Rolf Harris

Indecent assault *

Sentence

5 years, 9 months' imprisonment

Rolf Harris was convicted of indecently assaulting four underage girls between the 1960s and 1980s. The victims were aged between 8 and 19 at the time of the offences. Specific incidents included assaulting an eight-year-old girl seeking an autograph at a community centre in Hampshire in 1968 or 1969, groping a 14-year-old girl at a celebrity event in Cambridge in 1975, assaulting a 15-year-old Australian girl visiting the UK in 1986, and maintaining a sexual relationship with a girl who was a friend of his daughter when she was between 13 and 15 years old. Additional witnesses from Malta, New Zealand, and Australia testified about similar assaults, though these could not be prosecuted in the UK.

Convicted on 12 counts of indecent assault on four female victims. No remorse shown. Stripped of honours. Expected to serve half the sentence in prison. One conviction (involving an eight-year-old girl in Portsmouth) overturned as unsafe in 2017. Later acquitted of additional charges in 2017.

4 Jul 2014

May 2014 1 case

Max Clifford

Indecent assault *

Sentence

8 years imprisonment

Max Clifford, a millionaire PR guru, was convicted of indecently assaulting multiple young women and girls between the 1970s and 1990s. He used his celebrity connections and position in the entertainment industry to groom and manipulate victims, including a 15-year-old girl he met on holiday in Spain whom he abused in his car after promising to make her the next Jodie Foster, and a 12-year-old girl he assaulted in a jacuzzi during another Spanish holiday by using his disabled daughter as bait. He enticed aspiring models and actresses into his office with false promises of career advancement, impersonating film producers, and then exposed himself and coerced them into sexual acts, often bragging about his small penis to gain sympathy. The assaults occurred over decades, with victims silenced by his dominant character and perceived untouchability. The case arose from the Operation Yewtree investigation following the Jimmy Savile scandal.

Convicted of eight counts of indecent assault. Judge Anthony Leonard QC condemned him for leading a double life and attempting to trivialise the court proceedings. He refused to apologise to victims and lodged an appeal against his sentence.

2 May 2014

January 2014 1 case

David Belmar

Trespass and possession of a knife *

Sentence

16 months imprisonment

On October 14, 2013, David Belmar, 44, of Dale View Road, Haringey, paced behind tourists at Buckingham Palace, then ran through the crowd and hurdled a vehicle barrier at the north centre gate into the Palace grounds, armed with a knife, as a protest against the decision to stop his Incapacity Benefit. He was rugby tackled and restrained by armed police officers without firearms being deployed.

Admitted trespass and possession of a knife. Suffered from paranoid schizophrenia since 2002, but judge stated condition had nothing to do with offences. Acted as a protest against Incapacity Benefit being stopped.

15 Jan 2014

Disclaimer: The information on this page is compiled from publicly available court records and published media reports. It is provided strictly for general informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice, nor should it be relied upon as a definitive record of any individual's criminal history or legal status.

Offence names marked with an asterisk (*) reflect descriptions used in media reporting and may not correspond to the formal legal charge or indictment. Sentencing details are as reported and may be subject to subsequent appeal, variation, or correction by the courts.

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1 English Grounds, London SE1 2HU, London, SE1 2HU, United Kingdom

+442075227200

Wheelchair accessible parking, Wheelchair accessible entrance

Monday - Friday: 08:30 - 18:00

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About Southwark Crown Court

Southwark Crown Court, located in London, is a Crown Court that handles serious criminal cases including murder, rape, robbery, and other indictable offences. With 257 sentencing records in our database, it is one of the Crown Courts serving the London area. Crown Courts sit with a judge and jury, and have the power to impose the full range of sentences available under UK law.

The court can be found at 1 English Grounds, London SE1 2HU, SE1 2HU.

Accessibility provisions at this court include wheelchair accessible entrance and wheelchair accessible parking.

For enquiries about cases heard at this court, you can contact the court by telephone on +442075227200.

All sentencing information published on this page has been sourced from publicly-available records and verified by our editorial team. If you believe any information is inaccurate or should be removed, you can submit a removal request directly from the relevant listing above.

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Southwark Crown Court Sentencing Results

Rasib Ghaffar

Jian Wen

Lee Richards

Anthony Sharwood

Aaron Stelmach-Purdie

Allan O’Neil

Peter Wilson

Roger Clerice

William Todd

Sheree Avard

Danny Thomas

Kamlesh Vaghjiani

Vishal Chudasama

William Lindfield

Neil Pursell

Ahmed Mohammed

E

Frederic Marino

Yoshika Ohmura

Ronald Alexander

Jeffrey Cook

Bernie Ecclestone

Nabeil Nasr

Mandip Kaur Sidhu

Denis Kupcevich

David Carrick

Rizwan Sami

Michael Stainer

Imran Ahmad Khan

Boris Becker

Michael Pym-Nixson

Oliver Mark

Alexander Georgiev

Artem Kuts

R V S

Jack Gibson

Samina Khan

Himat Chana

Madhu Bhajanehatti

Jason Abraham

Laylah De Cruz

Dianne Moorcroft

Andrew Rickard

Adam Coote

Sahila Kauser

Chris Denning

Dave Lee Travis

Rolf Harris

Max Clifford

David Belmar

About Southwark Crown Court

Nearby Courts

Inner London Crown Court

Central Criminal Crown Court

Central Criminal Court Crown Court

Thames Magistrates Court

Highbury Magistrates Court

Westminster Magistrates Court

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