Expert legal representation from JMW ensures Trading Standards prosecution is stopped mid-trial following disclosure requests and submissions of no case to answer being made. Not guilty verdicts entered and a defence cost order secured. 

Trading standards brought a case against 7 defendants following a lengthy investigation into companies’ who generated over £5 million by allegedly mis-selling trust products. It was said that the sales representatives of the companies told customers that the trusts could not be challenged by the Local Authorities and were guaranteed to work and avoid their assets being taken into account should they ever be taken into care. Three defendants were charged with conspiracy to defraud, three of the defendants were charged with fraudulent trading and our client who was represented by our Laura Leech, was charged with an offence of converting criminal property contrary to s327(1)(c) Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.

Initially submissions were made to the prosecution in relation to the amount of monies alleged to be criminal property. These submission were successful and subsequently reduced the amount of money said to be criminal property by nearly half. The case then proceeded to trial on the lesser amount.

As the case progressed, we were able to identify unused material (material that is not relied upon by the prosecution and may assist the defence and/or undermine the prosecution case) which had not been disclosed by the prosecution which could help our client’s case. We requested that this material be provided and upon sight of it, it did indeed help the case. This material was relied upon during the trial and assisted us in making a half time submission of no case to answer after the prosecution had closed their case.

The application was successful and the case was stopped by the judge. Formal not guilty verdicts were returned for our client.

Our client, who was of good character avoided a conviction and any potential proceeds of crime applications as a result of the exceptional representation they received. Our client was awarded a defence cost order to reimburse them for out of pocket expenses.

Large scale cases are usually accompanied with large amounts of unused material. This material requires a careful yet thorough approach to it. Should you find yourself charged with a large/complex case you need a lawyer who is experienced with approaching this material. JMW has a large criminal team who are experienced with handling these types of cases and are available to assist you from the early stages of any investigation.