Brexit film-maker jailed for conning Dragons’ Den star
THE producer of Brexit: The Movie has been jailed for nearly four years for conning Dragons’ Den entrepreneur James Caan’s business into investing £519,000 in his company.
David Shipley, 37, masterminded the pro-leave film, which featured Nigel Farage and David Davis. It came out a month before the 2016 referendum.
Shipley admitted fraudulently gaining a £519,000 investment in his financial recruitment company by altering his bank statements to inflate his earnings. He approached Mr Caan’s business, Resourcing Capital Ventures (RCV), with his own Dragons’ Den style pitch, requesting the loan for his firm, Spitfire Capital Advisors Ltd.
The Tory activist lied on a P60 form that his salary was £377,000 to win the confidence of backers when in reality he was making under £60,000.
At Southwark Crown Court Shipley remained expressionless as he was jailed for three years and nine months.
Gareth Munday, prosecuting, described Shipley as an underachiever. He said: “From 2011 to 2014 the only commission he earned was £19,928.
“He had in fact left his previous employment over a cloud. He had failed to turn up for his employment and when asked said his dad had died. The company found out about the lie when they phoned his house to express their condolences – and spoke to his father.”
“When interviewed by police Mr Shipley said he had not done anything wrong, simply Photoshopped his statements; it was a white lie.”
Benjamin Narain, defending, said Shipley had showed genuine remorse.
“He accepts the forged bank statements and P60 were wrong,” he said, adding that Shipley’s career in politics was over forever.
But reading a statement from a representative of RCV, Judge Martin Griffith said: “This man said that without the bank statements we would not have touched him with a barge pole.”
Shipley, of Broomfield Hill, Great Missenden, Bucks, admitted fraud by false representation; one of fraud by abuse of position was ordered to lie on file. In addition to his prison sentence he was disqualified from being a director for seven years.