Money Seized From Convicted Guildford Fraudster

Published on: 12 Apr, 2016
Updated on: 13 Apr, 2016

A 69-year-old Guildford man, Richard Abbott of Quarry Street, has been forced to hand back £155,000 obtained by illegal means following a police investigation.

The investigation conducted by Surrey Police’s Economic Crime Unit and Local Proactive Team, resulted in four convicted criminals having to pay back over £187,000 after pleading guilty to fraud and money laundering offences.

The initial success was the arrest of Tony McFie, 33, of Camberley, for money laundering in November 2012. During a search, officers seized £17,000 in cash which was detained under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

A financial investigation was conducted into the money laundering and a large sum of money was seen to pass through McFie’s bank accounts.

The money had been transferred from Abbott’s personal accounts to the business account of a dormant company, Annoplanna Ltd, and then back to McFie. The money was then transferred onwards. No legitimate reason or source was identified for the transfers.

Further investigation of the Annoplanna account, and Abbott himself, identified a further two identities: Richard Hayes and a Richard Hurley. These were found to be false and used by Abbott to open bank accounts and obtain a mortgage.

Abbott was arrested on 16 May 2013 in relation to a suspected fraud offence.

Further investigation of the bank accounts showed money transfers and cash transactions linked to Graham Osborne, 68, a mortgage advisor from Weybridge, and David Langley-Taylor, 56, a financial controller from Bournemouth.

Data from seized telephones, belonging to Abbott, contained many instances of payments being made to Langley-Taylor in return for documents such as payslips and bank account statements. The supply of documents was subsequently linked to Osborne.

On 25 and 26 September 2013 Osborne and Langley-Taylor were arrested on suspicion of fraud.

On 8 October 2013, Abbott was arrested on a fraud offence having attempted to open two bank accounts using false documentation in the name of Richard Carrington.

McFie pleaded guilty to attempting to gain a mortgage through fraud, while Osborne and Langley-Taylor pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit fraud.

On 11 September 2015, Abbott pleaded guilty to a fraud offence in respect of a false mortgage application on his wife’s house in Cornwall. He later pleaded to another offence of a false mortgage application, two offences of possession of false identity documents, two Republic of Ireland passports, with improper intent, and conspiracy to commit fraud with Osborne and Langley-Taylor.

All four defendants received suspended prison sentences and confiscation orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Detective Inspector Andy Haslam, from Surrey Police’s Economic Crime Unit, said: “Confiscation and forfeiture orders are often the final piece of the jigsaw following a conviction, and mean that the victims are compensated in part for their losses.

“Seeking a confiscation order following a conviction is a lengthy, complex process which can take many months but these figures show that the hard work, tenacity and determination of the team, particularly financial investigator Toby Carrington and Detective Constable Simon Tigg, has most definitely paid off.”

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