James Thacker and William Dean Secure First Ever Conviction for Knowingly Furnishing False Information in £2.7m Rural Development Grant Fraud

News

15/06/2020

On 12 June 2020, two defendants were sentenced for their participation in a scheme to secure over £2.7m in Government grant aid under the Countryside Productivity Scheme. False quotations, in the names of genuine businesses, were supplied to the Rural Payments Agency at DEFRA in an attempt to have taxpayers’ money paid to a preferred company.

Both defendants received custodial sentences, which were suspended in light of mitigation. One defendant was ordered to pay more than £96,000 in costs and compensation and was disqualified as a company director for two years.

The case involved what is understood to be the first conviction under regulation 16 of the Common Agricultural Policy (Control and Enforcement, Cross-Compliance, Scrutiny of Transactions and Appeals) Regulations 2014, which makes it an offence knowingly or recklessly to furnish false or misleading information to a person administering the grant scheme.

A full report of the case is available here.

James Thacker and William Dean prosecuted the case. They were instructed by Gurminder Sanghera at the Serious Fraud Division of the Crown Prosecution Service.

Featured Counsel

James Thacker KC

Call 2001 | Silk 2024

William Dean

Call 2011

Latest News & Events

Eleanor Mawrey and Francesca Kolar secure convictions in £1.5m HMRC Gift Aid Fraud arising from false claims submitted on behalf of 10 evangelical churches.

Following the 10 week trial at Snaresbrook Crown Court, Kwabena Duodu was sentenced to 10 years for his role as the accountant submitting the false claims. Moses Asare, head pastor of Praise Harvest Community Church received 7 years imprisonment for submitting the claims in relation…

Deka Chambers presents mock trial for Hastings Direct

Yesterday, Deka Chambers, in collaboration with HF, presented a mock trial and an appeal for Hastings Direct in Bexhill. The trial concerned non tariff injury inflation, claims layering and fundamental dishonesty. The proceedings were presented by Roger André, Simon Trigger and Bernard Pressman. Brendan Hill…

Deka Chambers participates in Middle Temple pupillage event

On Tuesday, Gareth Munday, a member of the Pupillage Committee at Deka Chambers, spoke on the panel at the Middle Temple Young Bar Association’s pupillage event. It was an excellent opportunity for students and prospective applicants to learn about the application process and to ask…

Subscribe to our mailing list

Deka Chambers: 5 Norwich Street, London EC4A 1DR

© Deka Chambers 2024

Search

Portfolio Builder

Select the expertise that you would like to download or add to the portfolio

Download    Add to portfolio   
Portfolio
Title Type CV Email

Remove All

Download


Click here to share this shortlist.
(It will expire after 30 days.)