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Suspended sentence for security industry director who defrauded employer of £37,000 in travel expenses (16 September 2016)

Date: 16/09/2016
Duncan Lewis, Crime Solicitors, Suspended sentence for security industry director who defrauded employer of £37,000 in travel expenses

A former deputy director of the Security Industry Authority (SIA) has been given a suspended jail sentence, after she defrauded the government body out of more than £37,000 for travel allowance payments to which she was not entitled.

In September 2013, Charlotte Jennings was appointed Deputy Director of the SIA – the government body that regulates the security industry – and was posted to work from their offices based in Holborn, central London.

At the time she was appointed to the post, Jennings was living in Alderley Edge, Cheshire – as part of her employment package, she was given a travel allowance to cover her weekly return trip to and from London and hotel accommodation in London during the working week.

The package came to around £25,000 per year and was agreed to last two years on the condition that she was residing in the north of England.

However, on 28 February 2014, Jennings moved to a flat in Bridgeman Road, Islington and began to live in London. However, she did not inform the SIA of the change of address, as she was required to do.

After the SIA ordered an audit to be carried out in August 2015 on those receiving special travel allowance payments, Jennings then set about creating false bank statements to make it appear as though she was still travelling to and from Cheshire every week.

The court heard that she had enlisted the help of her partner, Nick Metcalfe, who helped her to create the false bank statements to make it look as though she was still purchasing train tickets and making hotel payments.

However, following the audit, the SIA became suspicious that Jennings was falsifying the statements and the case was referred to the City of London Police.

Detectives arrested Jennings on 28 September 2015, seizing her laptop and phones as part of the investigation. Jennings was arrested on 28 September 2015 – and, through their enquiries, detectives found that she had researched fake bank statements on her laptop and then tasked her partner to obtain and create fake bank statements that would show the necessary details to defraud the SIA.

Officers compared the fake bank statements with the real ones, which showed spending patterns consistent with somebody living permanently in London and had no record of any train ticket or hotel payments.

From the time Jennings moved to London, until her fraud was discovered, she received just over £37,000 in travel expense payments.
At the Inner London Crown Court on Tuesday, 13 September, Charlotte Jennings, 45, of Green Hall Close in Atherton pleaded guilty to one count of fraud by abuse of a position of trust and one count of possession of articles for use in fraud.

Jennings was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years and 150 hours of unpaid work. She is also subject to a compensation order of £35,363.

Jennings’ partner, Nick Metcalfe, 50, of the same address, also pleaded guilty to possession of articles for use in fraud and aiding fraud by false representation. Metcalfe was sentenced to a 12-month community order and 150 hours of unpaid work.

Duncan Lewis Fraud Lawyers

Duncan Lewis fraud lawyers can advise at any stage of a charge involving fraud, including company fraud, financial fraud, credit card fraud, false accounting, embezzlement, investment fraud and white collar crime.

There are Duncan Lewis offices across England and Wales – including more than 20 offices across London and the southeast. A Duncan Lewis fraud lawyer can advise at the start of an investigation and before charges are brought.

Duncan Lewis can also liaise with investigating authorities such as SFO, FCA, BIS, HMRC, Insolvency Service and City of London Police – as well as advising on confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

For expert legal advice on all fraud charges, call Duncan Lewis fraud lawyers on 0333 772 0409.

For 24/7 help at a police station, call the Duncan Lewis Solicitors 24-Hour Emergency Helpline on 0333 772 0607.


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