Woman praised for revealing bank fraud

A WOMAN who found “a treasure trove” of bank fraud evidence dumped in her wheelie bin could be in line for a reward from a judge.

Eleven people, including a Huddersfield man who worked as a business manager at the NatWest in Bradford city centre, were sentenced back in 2016 following a lengthy police inquiry which began after the woman handed over the bin-liner full of banking documents.

Former NatWest business managers James Clegg, from Huddersfield, and Bradford man Anzar Hussain were both jailed for their roles in the conspiracy which involved the authorisation for bogus business loans and the use of stolen identities of innocent people.

Hussain, 43, of Rayner Avenue, was jailed for six years and three months after a judge described him as the “leading light” in the scam while his socalled “banking buddy” Clegg, 34, of Storths Road, Birkby, was sentenced to four years for processing more than a dozen fraudulent business loans.

Bradford Crown Court heard previously that the conspiracy succeeded in defrauding the bank out of £350,000, but a further six loan applications worth another £150,000 did not go through.

Nine other people were also sentenced following the police inquiry into the scam and the legal proceedings ended on Friday after a Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA) application against a remaining defendant was agreed.

During the trial of some of the defendants prosecutor Chris Smith described the documentation left in the bin as “a treasure trove of evidence” and he explained that by handing in the bin-liner the woman had helped police to preserve fingerprint evidence.

Mr Smith said now that the case had concluded it was appropriate to ask the court to consider a reward for the woman.

Judge Neil Davey QC, who heard the POCA application, said such an order would have to be considered by Judge Jonathan Rose who presided over the trial and he suggested that the Crown should make an application for the reward in writing for him to consider.