Former Barnet and Capita worker jailed for £2million ‘fake CPO’ fraud
Hendon Town Hall, Barnet Council's HQ - Credit: Archant
A former staffer who worked on the contract between Capita and Barnet Council has been jailed for five years over a £2million fraud.
Trishul Shah, 38, of Ashcombe Gardens in Edgware, was sentenced by Her Honour Judge Dean after pleading guilty at Harrow Crown Court.
He admitted two separate offences of fraud by abuse of position on Tuesday. In total, he defrauded the joint venture between the council and the outsourcing giant of £2,063,972.
It was the result of 62 fraudulent payments on compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) between July 2016 and December 2017.
At the time, he worked as a capital investment manager for Regional Enterprise Ltd, formed as part of the partnership’s 10-year contract.
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Capita will underwrite the financial loss to the council.
Leader of Barnet Council, Cllr Richard Cornelius, said: “This individual was in a position of trust, where it was his responsibility to manage and safeguard taxpayers’ money.
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“He abused his position by conducting fraudulent activity over a sustained period of time for his own personal gain.”
Barnet and Capita have now upped financial controls and monitoring, and commissioned an independent review to “fully understand and document the circumstances under which the alleged fraud was possible and identify lessons learned”, he added.
