Central Fraud Group
The Crown Prosecution Service's (CPS) Central Fraud Group (CFG), created in April 2010, brings together the expertise of prosecutors who have experience with every type of fraud. Based in centres in London, Manchester and York, this concentration of specialists allows us to successfully prosecute the most serious and complex cases.
The latest estimate from the National Fraud Authority puts the total cost of fraud to the UK economy at £30 billion annually. It is a common crime that takes many forms, from doorstep swindles to corporate conspiracies, and the public, as victims or taxpayers, always pay the price.
The 42 CPS Areas deal with fraud every day but large and complex cases deserve the attention of specialist prosecutors. That is where CFG comes in.
Combating serious fraud with our investigative partners in the police and HM Revenue & Customs, and with other key stakeholders such as the National Fraud Authority, is CFG's core mission. Our goal is to protect the public and the public purse by ensuring that offenders are brought to justice and stripped of their ill gotten gains.
CFG is a powerful weapon in the fight against fraud.
Learn more
Please visit the other parts of the CFG website section to learn more about:
In the News
Operation Alien - 8 February 2010
Gideon Sarig and Howard Freckleton were convicted at Southwark Crown Court on 8 February of trading in controlled goods with intent to evade prohibition. They supplied military equipment such as bombs, firearms and armour-piercing ammunition to several countries including Sri Lanka during its civil war. Sarig was sentenced to nine years and Freckleton to seven years.
Elspeth Pringle, reviewing lawyer for the CPS Revenue & Customs Division (now CFG), said:
"Breaching restrictions on trading arms and military equipment is a serious offence, especially when the weapons are sent to conflict zones. Gideon Sarig and Howard Freckleton completely ignored the law and their sentences reflect the seriousness and scale of their arms dealing operations. These convictions, made possible by the close work between the CPS and HMRC, should send a clear warning to others who might want to profit from such illegal activities."
Recent cases
R V Carollyn Lascelles
An employee of a travel company used her position to book flights for herself and innocent third parties either without payment or through fake invoices to the company's clients. The victims of her fraud lost £164,000 in total. This included £20,000 lost by a wedding party who were told upon arrival in Jamaica from London that their return tickets were invalid so they had to pay their own way home. She received a four and a half year sentence and was banned from working for any travel booking company under a Serious Crime Prevention Order on 6 May 2010.
R v David Reynolds
David Reynolds, the former director of a satellite television repair firm, falsified his VAT accounts between 2004 and 2007. An investigation found that he had earned more than £600,000 from the scam so prosecutors authorised charges of VAT fraud and money laundering against Reynolds. He was convicted and then sentenced to three years and nine months imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on 30 March 2010. Reynolds was also banned from being a company director for seven years. The CPS is beginning the process of recovering the proceeds of the crime from Reynolds.
R V Donna Connolly
Donna Connolly and eight other defendants dishonestly claimed approximately £500,000 in tax credits designed to benefit workers and parents of disabled children. Connolly claimed her children, as well as two children who did not exist, entitled her to tax credits. She received more than £136,000 as a result of her bogus claims. She then showed the other defendants how to use the online application system to file false claims for child tax credit and working tax credit. Connolly was jailed for four years on 26 March 2010.
R V John Maurice
John Maurice laundered almost £4 million. He regularly brought large sums of cash - up to £50,000 - to an exchange bureau and converted them to Euros before travelling to the continent. Investigators found he had used the bureau approximately 180 times between April 2005 and June 2008. Maurice was arrested after he was caught with €63,000 hidden in his trousers while waiting for the ferry to France. He refused to reveal why he had laundered the money or who it was for but he pleaded guilty after being charged and was sentenced to four years imprisonment on 3 March 2010.
