Suspended policeman in £160k fraud trial
A POLICE inspector has been suspended from his duties for more than two years as he a wai t s trial over fraud allegations.
David Brown, 46, faces claims he defrauded investors out of more than £160,000 by working as a financial adviser while employed by the British Transport Police (BTP).
Brown, of Motherwell, Lanarkshire, was suspended from his post in 2013 and BTP last night confirmed his position remains unchanged.
He is accused of lying to obtain a second job with a pensions firm while still serving in his role as an inspector with the service.
Brown is also said to have produced false documents to gain the employment without the permission of police chiefs. He then allegedly carried out a fraud by applying for a number of investment policies for people without their knowledge and pocketing the commission.
He is further accused of obtaining £164,565 by claiming 75 per cent of the commission on the financial products.
Brown, a married father, is also accused of providing false information to ensure promotion to the role of police inspector.
He has appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court for a preliminary hearing and is expected to stand trial in May after entering a not guilty plea.
He first appeared in court in connection with the allegations in December 2014.
A total of four charges have been brought against him by prosecutors.
It is alleged that between January 15, 2009, and September 18, 2009, Brown applied for a second job as a financial adviser with Legal & General Assurance Society.
The charge also alleges he gave a false address in Bellshill, Lanarkshire, used a false electricity bill, and lied to staff at the DVLA that he lived there so they would give him a driving licence with that address printed on it.
This is claimed to have been done to hide his true Motherwell address and his credit history.
Prosecutors also say he got a fellow police employee to write him a letter saying he was allowed to take on secondary employment.
Another charge alleges he altered a ScottishPower utility bill to change his address to help him to gain employment with Legal & General Assurance Society.
Between March 2010 and February 2011, it is claimed he told bosses that clients had instructed him to apply for policies and to set up direct debits to remove cash f rom their bank accounts.
But the charge alleges he was not authorised to apply for the policies or set up direct debits.
And the charge states he induced Legal & General Assurance Society to pay Ronald H Smith Company, for which he was acting as an agent, commission for setting up the policies causing it to pay him 75 per cent commission, gaining £164,565 by fraud.
It also alleged that in February 2012, he submitted false information in a BTP questionnaire that he had stayed in Bellshill and nowhere else for the previous five years, when he was actually living in Motherwell.
He also accused of lying about his credit history and his marital status by claiming he was single.
Sheriff Shiona Waldron set a new date for a further preliminary hearing and continued Brown’s bail.
A British Transport Police spokesman said: ‘A serving BTP inspector is currently suspended and it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.’
‘Four charges have been brought’