Western Daily Press (Saturday)
College name used by pair for fees scam
TWO scammers who conned students out of thousands of pounds by pretending to run a course at Prior Park College in Bath have been spared jail.
The pair were convicted of money laundering and received suspended sentences at Bristol Crown Court following a council investigation.
Sanketkumar Patel and Chirag Patel advertised a fake institution, presented as Prior Park College, in 2015 and duped foreign nationals out of between £4,500 and £6,500 in course fees.
As well as missing out on the “business studies course”, which had allowed them to get a visa, the students lost money on flights to the UK and some of them were deported.
Bath and North East Somerset Council became aware of the scam when the real Prior Park College made a complaint.
The local authority’s Trading Standards team investigated the scam but were unable to locate the criminals.
However, some of the money the students paid was traced to the men’s bank accounts. As the money was criminal earnings from the scam, they were tried for money laundering.
Sanketkumar Patel, of Edenhall Close, Leicester, initially pleaded not guilty but in the third week of the trial changed his plea to guilty to two charges of money laundering involving a total of £13,000.
The court heard the proceeds of crime were initially laundered through an account in a false name before being transferred to Patel’s business account.
He operated a money transfer business, Jay Ambe Trading Limited, which traded as Jay Ambe Money
Without money launderers, the criminals would not be able to get away with it COUNCILLOR TIM BALL
Transfer, with offices in Wembley and Forest Gate in London.
Patel was sentenced to 21 months in jail, suspended for two years, and a proceeds of crime confiscation investigation has begun.
Chirag Patel, of Wellspring Crescent, Wembley, pleaded guilty to eight counts of money laundering involving a total of £47,000 and was sentenced to two years in jail for each offence to run concurrently.
The terms were suspended for two years. He received 120 hours of community service and was ordered to pay £2,000 costs.
Chirag Patel also received money from fake job adverts that enticed foreign nationals to apply for work at care homes in Surrey, Sussex and Wales. The court heard he committed some of the offences while on licence.
Trading Standards were commended on their investigation by the judge. In sentencing, the judge took account of the length of time the case had taken to get through the courts and the fact that both men were now employed and had stayed out of trouble.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for planning and licensing at Bath and North East Somerset Council,
said: “We regularly hear about scams and frauds taking money from victims by bank transfer, but without money launderers, the criminals would not be able to get away with it.
“Our Trading Standards team worked hard with the police and HM Revenue and Customs to bring this case to court. We remain committed to tackling scams, frauds and the money laundering that underpins it.”