Dreamwell couple ordered to pay £917,287

A husband and wife from Leeds convicted of consumer protection offences against vulnerable people have been ordered to pay back £917,287 under the Proceeds of Crime Act following a hearing at Leeds Crown Court.

Claire Wray (aged 38) and Paul Wray (aged 51, both of Clayton Wood Close, Leeds) both received prison sentences in March 2017 following their convictions. They mis-sold mattresses, beds and mobility equipment to elderly consumers through their company Dreamwell Limited.

Claire Wray, the sole director of the company, received 12 months in prison after being found guilty of misleading, banned and aggressive commercial practices, and money laundering. She was also disqualified from being a company director for seven years. Her husband, Paul Wray, company secretary for Dreamwell Ltd, was sentenced to 28 months imprisonment for illegal commercial practices in July 2016 and was disqualified from being a company director for nine years.

Recorder Iqbal QC ordered that the proceeds of crime confiscation order is to be paid within 3 months or the Wrays would face a further 6 years imprisonment.  He also ordered that compensation totalling £20,757 was to be paid to the Wray’s victims from the confiscated monies.

The couple was arrested on 9 December 2014 following over 50 complaints which triggered an extensive operation over an 18-month period by the National Trading Standards Yorkshire & the Humber Regional Investigations Team, based at City of York Council and the North East Regional Asset Recovery Team based with West Yorkshire.
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Computer fraud alert by York Police

North Yorkshire Police have been made aware of members of the public receiving phone calls from a male, speaking in a foreign accent, claiming to be from BT advising them that their computer has alerted them to problems in relation to their Broadband/Router.

He claims that it is being heavily infected with a virus and as such BT need to send an engineer to their property the next day.

But beforehand they require the customer to log onto their computer to facilitate a fault report for the engineer.

If the customer refuses to go along with their scam, the male becomes extremely abusive.

If you have been victim to such a phone call please contact Action Fraud on 0300 1232040

Police warning over telephone scams targeting the elderly

Police investigating a number of incidents where elderly victims have been defrauded of tens of thousands of pounds, are urging residents of North Yorkshire to be vigilant.

In 2016, there were 2,467 reported incidents of fraud across North Yorkshire. In more than 1,000 of those cases, the victim was aged 70 years or over.

A number of these incidents such as computer software service fraud, advance fee frauds, pension fraud and timeshares and holiday club fraud, will have been facilitated by the victim being scammed via telephone.

Fraudsters will call, claiming to be from a legitimate organisation such as a bank, service provider, utilities company or the police, in an attempt to convince the victim to reveal financial information or to transfer money into a third party account operated by criminals.

The fraudster often supplies a fake number for the victim to ring back on or in many cases the actual number of the organisations genuine customer reporting line, however the fraudster keeps the line open and the victim rings back believing they are speaking to a genuine operative and discloses the information.
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Fake phone cover pedlar handed suspended sentence and fined £1,280

A street pedlar who sold counterfeit phone and tablet covers in York city centre has been given a 12 week prison sentence, suspended for one year, with the requirement he also undertakes 300 hours unpaid work. Mr Faye was also fined a total of £1,280 by York Magistrates today (12 April 2017).

The fake brands included Dior and Apple and were among thousands of items discovered stockpiled in the pedlar’s basement and a storage unit by City of York Council trading standards officers.
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Empty property fraud alert from York Police

white-collar-crime-1

North Yorkshire Police would like to make you aware of a national increase in organised criminal groups currently targeting empty properties in the UK to apply for loans, duping mortgage providers and causing further distress to members of the public.
Criminal networks are identifying empty properties using names on published obituaries and carrying out further research on the Land Registry. Once a suitable property has been discovered the criminal group then organise for fake documentation to be produced, registering on the electoral role and with utility companies. They meticulously work through the legal hurdles until the finances are released by the unsuspecting organisation. The rights to the property actually belong to a completely innocent party who have no idea the crime has taken place until a much later point.

PROTECTION / PREVENTION ADVICE:

There is an increased risk of fraud when:
• a property is empty or has been bought-to-let
• the owner is spending time abroad or is absent
• the owner is infirm or in a nursing or care home
• a relationship breaks down between the property owners/dwellers
• a property has no mortgage

Protect yourself against property fraud:
• Be very wary of mail solicitations claiming great returns, no matter how good they look. Check out the company first. For example, does it have a legitimate street address and landline number?
• If a deal seems too good to be true, then it probably is.
• Owners who are concerned their property might be subject to a fraudulent sale or mortgage can quickly alert the Land Registry and speak to specially trained staff for practical guidance about what to do next by calling the Property Fraud Line on 0300 006 7030. The line is open from 8.30am to 5pm Monday to Friday.
• If you have been affected by this, or any other fraud, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk

York Police issue warning about Email scam

Potentially useful warning from the Police community messaging service

North Yorkshire Police would like to make you aware of the following email phishing scam:
Fraudsters are sending out a high number of phishing emails, mainly targeting email addresses connected to businesses in the United Kingdom, with the message subject heading ‘Notice of Intended Prosecution’ and ‘NIP – Notice Number’ followed by a combination of letters and numbers.

A NIP, used legally, informs an individual of the intention to take proceedings against the driver of a motor vehicle, in accordance with Sec1 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.

The emails purport to come from the Greater Manchester Police.

It is believed that the URL hidden behind the line ‘Check The Photographic Evidence’ delivers the GOZI/ISFP Banking Trojan which is involved in stealing online banking login details from victims.
If you have been affected by this, or any other fraud, report it to Action Fraud by calling 0300 123 2040, or visiting www.actionfraud.police.uk.

York council tax single person discount – fraud checks starting

CT fraud

 City of York Council is urging customers who are registered for Single Occupancy discount on their Council Tax, but who are no longer eligible, to contact the council as soon as possible.

The authority is carrying out a review of its single occupancy customer database to ensure that it is up-to-date. The council will also carry out a residency check to find out who may no longer be eligible for discount.

Ian Floyd, the council’s director of Resources, said: “We know that most people claim council tax discounts legitimately, but there are occasions when people’s circumstances change and they forget to tell us that their discount should be cancelled.

“The authority has a legal and social responsibility to ensure that everyone in York gets value for money and to ensure that only those people who are eligible receive the discount.”

More information on the single persons discount review can be found on the council’s website at: www.york.gov.uk/SPDreview. People can also cancel their discount online.

Householders who receive a single person’s discount review form can also contact the review team by ringing 01904 820900.

 

Region’s first tenancy fraud conference to be held in York

Ways to tackle tenancy fraud will be top of the agenda at the region’s first tenancy fraud conference, hosted by Veritau, City of York Council’s fraud investigation service at West Offices, York on Tuesday 10 March 2015.

There, 32 social landlords will be attending the Tenancy Fraud Conference, organised on behalf of the Yorkshire and Humberside Tenancy Fraud Forum.
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Tenancy fraud clampdown in York

Council’s and social landlords in the region are encouraging people to report tenancy fraud as part of a regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2014.

Council’s and social landlords in the region are encouraging people to report tenancy fraud as part of a regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2014.

Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2014 runs between Monday 3 and Sunday 9 February, and social housing providers and fraud busting-agencies across the region are encouraging members of the public to report any suspicions of tenancy fraud.

With tenancy fraud now a criminal offence following the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013, this latest campaign builds on an anti-Housing Fraud campaign launched in August 2013 by City of York Council and its counter fraud specialist partner Veritau.

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