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| CPS staff admit taxi fares scam | CPS staff admit taxi fares scam |
| (4 months later) | |
| Two Crown Prosecution Service employees have admitted making more than £1m of bogus claims for taxi fares. | Two Crown Prosecution Service employees have admitted making more than £1m of bogus claims for taxi fares. |
| Finance manager Lisa Burrows and officer worker Tahir Mahmood were warned to expect jail terms after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Birmingham crown court. | Finance manager Lisa Burrows and officer worker Tahir Mahmood were warned to expect jail terms after pleading guilty to fraud by abuse of position at Birmingham crown court. |
| Burrows, 41, of Oldbury, West Midlands, and Mahmood, 50, of Hodge Hill, Birmingham, are believed to have used the proceeds of the five-year scam to pay off a mortgage and fund trips to Dubai. | Burrows, 41, of Oldbury, West Midlands, and Mahmood, 50, of Hodge Hill, Birmingham, are believed to have used the proceeds of the five-year scam to pay off a mortgage and fund trips to Dubai. |
| The pair, who will be sentenced in July, showed no obvious sign of emotion as they admitted cheating the CPS out of £1,021,475 by producing invoices for a fictitious cab firm purporting to cater for witnesses. | The pair, who will be sentenced in July, showed no obvious sign of emotion as they admitted cheating the CPS out of £1,021,475 by producing invoices for a fictitious cab firm purporting to cater for witnesses. |
| Brian Dean, prosecuting, told the court investigators were still attempting to trace the proceeds of the fraud. | Brian Dean, prosecuting, told the court investigators were still attempting to trace the proceeds of the fraud. |
| Asking Judge Nicholas Webb for the case to be adjourned until 4 July, the barrister said inquiries into international bank accounts were being made by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. | Asking Judge Nicholas Webb for the case to be adjourned until 4 July, the barrister said inquiries into international bank accounts were being made by the Serious Organised Crime Agency. |
| Dean added: "There is not, at the moment, any explanation for where the money has gone. A financial analyst is considering all the information so that a sentencing judge can be given a very clear idea of precisely what has happened to the money." | Dean added: "There is not, at the moment, any explanation for where the money has gone. A financial analyst is considering all the information so that a sentencing judge can be given a very clear idea of precisely what has happened to the money." |
| It was possible, Dean said, that Mahmood had used £120,000 to clear a mortgage, while Burrows was thought to have visited Dubai on many occasions. | It was possible, Dean said, that Mahmood had used £120,000 to clear a mortgage, while Burrows was thought to have visited Dubai on many occasions. |
| "These things need to be run to ground so that the sentencing judge has a full and accurate picture of the precise nature of the spending and the whereabouts of the money," Dean said. | "These things need to be run to ground so that the sentencing judge has a full and accurate picture of the precise nature of the spending and the whereabouts of the money," Dean said. |
| Burrows and Mahmood were charged last month after an investigation by police acting on a complaint from the CPS. | Burrows and Mahmood were charged last month after an investigation by police acting on a complaint from the CPS. |
| Mahmood, thought to be a former taxi driver, worked for the CPS as an administrative assistant. | Mahmood, thought to be a former taxi driver, worked for the CPS as an administrative assistant. |
| An earlier hearing at Birmingham magistrates court was told he had opened bank accounts using a different surname to facilitate the fraud. | An earlier hearing at Birmingham magistrates court was told he had opened bank accounts using a different surname to facilitate the fraud. |
| The hearing at the lower court also heard that inquiries into Burrows' finances found evidence of expensive purchases of designer clothes, jewellery and holidays. | The hearing at the lower court also heard that inquiries into Burrows' finances found evidence of expensive purchases of designer clothes, jewellery and holidays. |
| At the time of the previous hearing on 28 February, £1,400 had been found in accounts connected to Mahmood, who claimed no funds remained from the fraud. | At the time of the previous hearing on 28 February, £1,400 had been found in accounts connected to Mahmood, who claimed no funds remained from the fraud. |
| The CPS colleagues, of previous good character, were remanded in custody pending the preparation of pre-sentence reports. | The CPS colleagues, of previous good character, were remanded in custody pending the preparation of pre-sentence reports. |
| Webb told the pair: "You have both pleaded guilty to what is a serious offence and both of you recognise that the court will impose a custodial sentence when you come back to be sentenced." | Webb told the pair: "You have both pleaded guilty to what is a serious offence and both of you recognise that the court will impose a custodial sentence when you come back to be sentenced." |
| Burrows and Mahmood were dismissed from their posts by the CPS on the day they first appeared in court. | Burrows and Mahmood were dismissed from their posts by the CPS on the day they first appeared in court. |
| Commenting on their guilty pleas, Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime for the CPS, said: "This was a significant fraud of at least £1,000,000 and those responsible have now been brought to justice. The CPS will be taking steps to recover the funds." | Commenting on their guilty pleas, Malcolm McHaffie, deputy head of special crime for the CPS, said: "This was a significant fraud of at least £1,000,000 and those responsible have now been brought to justice. The CPS will be taking steps to recover the funds." |
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