If the Polis do an even half decent job the guy is actually spectacularly likely to fall on his sword this time; thanks to a New Labour mania for new legislation and new offences that looks very worthwhile on this ocassion.
It would therefore be useful if the people who have attended the interview with him would provide statements to the police to same effect as the descriptions of the interviews they have posted here. Even if they haven't lost money; his attempt to get it still represents an act of fraud by false representation and giving a statement would help nail him for the people that have lost money.
Fraud by false representation is committed very simply. It is where a person dishonestly makes a false representation and intends by making the representation to make a gain for himself or another or to cause loss to another or to expose another to a risk of loss.
A representation is false if it is untrue or misleading and the person making it knows that it is, or might be, untrue or misleading.
There are two areas where he has made untrue statements that he must have known were untrue, with the intention of causing a gain for himself.
He made statements regarding the existence of investors with the intention of getting people to do business with him, to receive the gain of use of a leased aircraft, and to receive funds from would be pilots in respect of training.
He also made false statements as regards has identity, also with the (acknowledged) intention of gaining the benefit of getting people to do business with him.
It is also necessary to show that he "dishonestly" made these false statements.
Dishonesty has two elements:
- That the thing done was dishonest by the standards of reasonable honest people
- The the person doing the thing must have known that it was dishonest by those standards.
I would strongly argue that this test is met in respect of the statements regarding investors. That's wrong in anyone's book; and the guy had form - he knew that he needed to reassure people he had capital after what happened the last time. He needed money off pilots, and he knew he had to lie to get it, and he knew what lie he had to say in order to get it.
His Oxford Mail and Times statements tend towards him trying to suggest he doesn't meet the second of these tests in respect of the false name. However the reason he gives for using the false name itself shows dishonestly. He must have known it was wrong to make people that he knew didn't want to do business with him and that were ignoring him do business with him by pretending he was someone else. That's wrong in any person's book!
There are no other tests or hurdles to cross other than the ones I listed. A fraud is a fraud even if it is only an attempted fraud, and it is a fraud even if the intended victim knows from the outset that it's a fraud.
Obviously there are other potential areas, like the possible implied false representation that he was even capable of providing the money he took off people for the training. I don't know the ins and outs of the legislation relevant to that...
Very best wishes to CIT850, Potential, and the others. I hope you find real jobs with honest people really soon!
Edit: I've read further. All the best to CIT850, and congratulations to Potential!
Last edited by 01475; 17th Mar 2010 at 01:37.