Value of fraud more than trebles
The value of fraud against financial institutions in Yorkshire more than trebled last year.
According to professional services firm KPMG the value of cases rose from £619,000 in 2015 to £2.1m in 2016.
The firm’s Fraud Barometer, which measures fraud cases with losses of £100,000 or more reaching the UK courts, also found investors to be the target of high-value fraudulent activity.
These cases accounted for £11.7m (61%) of the combined value of all fraud in the region.
In total, there were 25 fraud cases, worth £19.1m, brought to courts in the Yorkshire region during the year.
While the value of fraud against commercial businesses decreased by 21%, these organisations remained the most common victims of fraud, accounting for 40% of total cases in the region. Professional criminals also remained the most common perpetrators, again accounting for 40% of all cases.
Vivien Hopkins, forensic director at KPMG in Leeds, said: “Our region is known for its financial services sector, and its worrying to see the value of cases against our banks, building societies and investment community increase so dramatically.
“Our research also highlights the high number of unscrupulous individuals out there who are purposely targeting businesses for their own financial gain. All of this combined continues to highlight the importance of fraud prevention, and should prompt management teams to remain vigilant and keep alert to the risk of fraud.”
Notable cases coming to court in Yorkshire in 2016 include a collections manager who stole more than £100,000 from a company where he was employed to chase bad debts.
The fraudster carried out the deception for almost three years before his offending came to light while working in a Leeds-based financial services company. An investigation was carried out which revealed 21 bogus transactions had been carried out from August 2012, with a total of £104,488 paid to his personal bank account.
In Huddersfield, a man was jailed for his part in a sophisticated banking scam, in which staff in India were targeted to provide individual personal banking details to fraudsters with the potential to steal hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The potential risk of loss on accounts had applications not been declined or blocked was estimated to be £797,411.
Meanwhile, a fake billionaire from Leeds and his gang were jailed for stealing £5m from investors in a Panama land sting. The fraudsters left victims with no pensions or savings after conning them.
A judge deemed the fraudsters to have ‘left a trail of personal and financial ruin’ while they spent money on exotic holidays and expensive sports cars.
The main perpetrator was jailed for 12 years after admitting five fraud offences. Three others including his son were also jailed.
