Conman used 100 identities to embezzle £1m
By Paul StokesA fraudster who set up over 100 fake identities had to use a little gold address book to remind himself who he was supposed to be at any one time.
Daniel Lawrence, 28, embezzled almost £1 million through the web of deceit he spun after changing his own name by deed poll from Robert Ikunnah.
He even took driving tests under some of his many aliases to give more credibility to the names he assumed to carry out his crimes.
"On the one hand he was Robert Ikunnah, a Nigerian immigrant living on benefits," said Det Ins Lee Halstead, of Lancashire Police. "In his other life he was Daniel Lawrence, a successful businessman driving a BMW M5 tourer with a private registration."
He also gave each of other identities, discovered in his gold book, three dates and four addresses as part of his elaborate deception.
Detectives discovered 208 separate bank and credit card accounts set up in various names through which he swindled £200,000 from banks and more than £40,000 from loan companies and others.
His most serious offence, however, was in claiming £716,000 in fictitious VAT receipts from HM Revenue and Customs.
Lawrence was jailed for six years at Preston Crown Court this week after admitting 33 offences of fraud and money laundering.
Police were alerted when he set up unit trust funds using his own bank accounts before changing direct debit details to those of major companies. He had assumed the large organisations would not realise small amounts of money were being taken from their accounts.
Lawrence was arrested in a raid on his printing business Print Inspiration in Blackburn in January and other premises he was linked to were also searched.
An investigation revealed that had set up a string of false companies and fake identities over a two and a half year period. His VAT scam involved registering three separate companies under false names before submitting receipts for non-existent transactions which he backed up with self-printed invoices.
Under the name of Andrew Wilson alone he received payments totalling £579,000 from HM Revenue and Customs for transactions that never took place.
He created a business called Classic Motors with a website designed to give it an air of respectability, but calls to the listed phone number redirected to his mobile.
Lawrence also had numerous addresses across North-West England and Scotland which were used in his deceptions although mail to them was redirected to his addresses in Lancashire. Ian Unsworth QC, prosecuting, said when police raided one address they found a chest of drawers containing a range of different identification documents.
Lawrence was said to have built up "whole families" so he could commit his frauds and tried to make his identities foolproof. One method was sitting a number of driving tests under different names and once he acquired licences in those names he would use them as identification when setting up business or to support claims.
Judge Andrew Gilbart QC told him: "You are a very intelligent and ingenious criminal who targeted banks, the Government and public companies.
"Let it be understood that those who engage in fraud will be subjected to deterrent sentences such as this."
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