Barnet Council benefits case breaks new legal ground
A benefits fraud case brought after a five-year investigation by Barnet Council has broken new ground, after the judge delivered her own verdict without a jury following allegations of jury tampering.
The trial saw Riccardo Guthrie, 33, and sister Cosima Guthrie, 25, both of Purfleet, Essex, jailed for three years and 18 months respectively, while second sister Bianca Guthrie, 35, of Chingford, received a two-year jail term for her part.
A fourth defendant, Courtney Campbell, 48, of south London, received a 12-month suspended sentence and was ordered to carry out 160 hours of unpaid work.
They were all sentenced at Wood Green Crown Court on 14 July for charges of conspiracy to defraud.
A fifth defendant, Vanessa Williams, 40, from Barnet, was cleared of any wrongdoing in a verdict delivered by the jury before they were discharged by the judge.
The judge, Miss Recorder Caroline English, delivered the other verdicts without a jury – the first time this has ever happened in a case in England and Wales where a jury has been discharged during a trial.
The sentences followed a five-year investigation by Barnet’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT), its Legal Department and the Metropolitan Police PayBack Unit.
The defendants’ scheme – which involved the use of a large number of aliases and false identities – saw the fraudulent claiming of approximately £112,000 in Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit between 2003 and 2007.
The court was told how the money was then used to finance mortgage payments on properties in Barnet, Ealing and Waltham Forest.
The jury was sworn in on 7 February 2011 and retired on 11 March 2011. However, three days after the jury retired to consider its verdict, serious allegations of jury tampering were brought to the court’s attention.
Those allegations are still the subject of a police investigation. They centred on an allegation that an associate of the defendants had been in contact with a member of the jury in an attempt to ensure that the juror returned not guilty verdicts; and was contacting the juror about how deliberations were going.
On 18 March Miss Recorder English concluded that she had “no realistic or workable alternative” other than to discharge the entire jury. Rather than abandon the trial, the judge ruled that she could still proceed without a jury under provisions set out in the Criminal Justice Act 2003.
On 26 May 2011 the Lord Chief Justice sitting at the Court of Appeal dismissed an application by defence barristers to have the decision overturned. Defence counsel argued at a hearing on 15 June 2011 that the case should be referred to the Supreme Court but permission was refused.
Cllr Richard Cornelius, Barnet’s Leader, said: “This was a systematic and highly organised attack on the benefit system to cheat the taxpayer out of more than £100,000.
“Barnet Council is committed to making sure any fraud is punished and I think that is illustrated by the way we have pursued this case. During these difficult economic times it’s utterly wrong that these individuals should use public money to finance the purchase of a string of properties in Barnet and across London.
Cllr Cornelius added: “Despite the unusual nature of this trial the result of this case is testament to the sheer dedication and skill of Barnet’s CAFT team and Legal Department in exposing this complex scam."
Barnet Council has also commenced confiscation proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Act.
