0:00:02 > 0:00:04Every year, billions of pounds of our taxes are spent
0:00:04 > 0:00:07on those in genuine need of financial help,
0:00:07 > 0:00:11money that's a lifeline for people that deserve our support.
0:00:11 > 0:00:13Everything was crumbling around me.
0:00:13 > 0:00:17But unfortunately, about a billion goes on lining the pockets of
0:00:17 > 0:00:19those who aren't entitled to it.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22This is just pure greed and nothing else.
0:00:22 > 0:00:26But if you cheat the system, you're being watched.
0:00:26 > 0:00:28We knew where to look straightaway.
0:00:28 > 0:00:32Welcome to the world of Saints And Scroungers.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58Saints And Scroungers shines a light on the good
0:00:58 > 0:01:01and the bad of our benefits system, and highlights those who
0:01:01 > 0:01:03deliberately steal from the public purse.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07It's a simple case of need versus greed.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10And it's a battle that's fought every day across the UK,
0:01:10 > 0:01:14investigators bringing fraudsters to justice and saints fighting
0:01:14 > 0:01:18to make sure that people get what they're genuinely entitled to.
0:01:19 > 0:01:22Coming up on today's show...
0:01:22 > 0:01:25Corrupt council managers who aren't just fiddling expenses
0:01:25 > 0:01:29but using fake employees to steal taxpayers' cash.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31And out of that, she was making over £100,000?
0:01:31 > 0:01:35Well over £100,000, yes. Definitely worth her while.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38And we meet a young mother and daughter who get help dealing
0:01:38 > 0:01:41with a difficult and troubling disorder.
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Because she can't tell us what she wants,
0:01:45 > 0:01:49she can't make her feelings known, so she does get very angry.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58Being a role model to today's youth is a difficult but important job.
0:01:58 > 0:02:00You need to keep them on the straight and narrow,
0:02:00 > 0:02:05guide them onto the right path, and it takes someone who's honest,
0:02:05 > 0:02:06trustworthy and reliable.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10Which is why Peter Nicholson, who built up years of employment at
0:02:10 > 0:02:15Newham Council, was given the very coveted title of the
0:02:15 > 0:02:17Head of the Youth Offending Team.
0:02:19 > 0:02:24In 2011, the fraud unit in Newham won a national award for being the
0:02:24 > 0:02:28most effective team in the UK for tracking down benefits cheats.
0:02:28 > 0:02:31But I've come to the borough to find out about
0:02:31 > 0:02:33a very different kind of fraud...
0:02:33 > 0:02:36theft of council funds by its own staff.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42Emma Vick is head of Fraud Investigations in Newham.
0:02:42 > 0:02:46Tell me about the Youth Offending Team. How does that work?
0:02:46 > 0:02:49The Youth Offending Team is a team within the borough whose job
0:02:49 > 0:02:51is to rehabilitate young offenders.
0:02:51 > 0:02:55And they've got social workers, probation officers and Newham staff
0:02:55 > 0:02:57as well, that all work together to do that.
0:02:57 > 0:03:00- And they're very successful? - Very good, yeah.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03And they've been going for several years.
0:03:03 > 0:03:06It's something that, obviously, Newham's pretty proud of.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09We're very proud of it. They started in the year 2000, and we've actually
0:03:09 > 0:03:12been complimented on how well we did deal with our young offenders.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15OK. Who is the man at the head of that?
0:03:15 > 0:03:18- There was a man called Peter Nicholson.- OK. Tell me about him.
0:03:18 > 0:03:20Peter Nicholson's worked for Newham for a long time.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24He was actually brought in specially to head up the YOT in 2000,
0:03:24 > 0:03:26he took that role on from its inception.
0:03:26 > 0:03:30He got an OBE for working for Newham, as well, for services to
0:03:30 > 0:03:32Youth Offending, and was seen to be very successful.
0:03:34 > 0:03:38Both Nicholson and his team seemed to be on top of their game,
0:03:38 > 0:03:41but in 2006, his department, and more specifically,
0:03:41 > 0:03:44his finance officer Shirin Bazrcar,
0:03:44 > 0:03:47were about to ping on Emma Vick's radar.
0:03:50 > 0:03:53A member of staff who worked for the Youth Offending Team had received
0:03:53 > 0:03:56some notification from the Inland Revenue.
0:03:56 > 0:03:59This showed that her employer was Shirin Bazrcar. She was under
0:03:59 > 0:04:02the impression she was employed by Excel Staffing Solutions.
0:04:02 > 0:04:04She felt that this may be a conflict of interest.
0:04:04 > 0:04:07The member of staff reported this to Peter Nicholson,
0:04:07 > 0:04:09who, in turn, reported it to me.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12If he hadn't done this, it was quite likely the member of staff
0:04:12 > 0:04:16would have reported it to another manager and reported it again.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19Hold on a minute. Shirin had two jobs,
0:04:19 > 0:04:23one with the council and one running her own employment agency.
0:04:23 > 0:04:26By employing youth workers from her own company,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28Excel Staffing Solutions,
0:04:28 > 0:04:32to work for Newham's Youth Offending Team, Shirin could be potentially
0:04:32 > 0:04:34pocketing the commission.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37Emma Vick began investigating the allegation.
0:04:37 > 0:04:40It turns out it was one of many flying around the department,
0:04:40 > 0:04:42and not just about Shirin.
0:04:42 > 0:04:46Peter's business trips abroad had cropped up during enquires, as well.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Once we started looking into the Youth Offending Team,
0:04:49 > 0:04:50we became aware of some rumours
0:04:50 > 0:04:54regarding misappropriation of funds regarding trips to Canada,
0:04:54 > 0:04:56and also the employment of ghost employees.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00Ghost employees? Spooky.
0:05:00 > 0:05:03It seems that Emma had opened up a can of worms, and these were serious
0:05:03 > 0:05:08allegations. A ghost employee is someone, real or fake, who's placed
0:05:08 > 0:05:11on a payroll system, but doesn't actually work for the council.
0:05:11 > 0:05:15When the ghost's wages are paid, the fraudster collects the money.
0:05:18 > 0:05:21Back up a minute. Thank you.
0:05:21 > 0:05:24One allegation against the finance manager Shirin is
0:05:24 > 0:05:29suddenly spawning stories of trips abroad paid for by the council,
0:05:29 > 0:05:33and ghost employees. It seems like Peter Nicholson is hiding a few
0:05:33 > 0:05:38skeletons behind that OBE, prompting Emma to have a proper rummage around
0:05:38 > 0:05:42in the Youth Offending Team's business.
0:05:42 > 0:05:45She started by looking into the claims about trips abroad,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47and soon discovered a paper trail.
0:05:47 > 0:05:50There were three trips to Canada that Peter had taken
0:05:50 > 0:05:52and charged to Newham.
0:05:52 > 0:05:55The first two trips were Peter and a member of his family.
0:05:55 > 0:05:58And then the final trip was Peter, his family,
0:05:58 > 0:06:03and personal friends. The invoices from Trailfinders showed the make-up
0:06:03 > 0:06:04of the party, so it had the names of
0:06:04 > 0:06:06everybody that was travelling to Canada.
0:06:06 > 0:06:11On one of the trips, Peter had taken five members of his family
0:06:11 > 0:06:13and a friend, David Tuck, who took
0:06:13 > 0:06:15three members of his family, as well.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19Sounds like the kind of jolly that's too good to be true.
0:06:19 > 0:06:22But who in the council agreed to pay for them?
0:06:22 > 0:06:25Peter actually told the chief executive that he'd been
0:06:25 > 0:06:28invited by the Canadian authorities to represent Newham
0:06:28 > 0:06:30and that he could also take some members of staff with him.
0:06:30 > 0:06:33He also said that the Canadian authorities would reimburse
0:06:33 > 0:06:35Newham for the cost of the trip.
0:06:35 > 0:06:39Yeah, family and friends isn't the same as work colleagues, but I guess
0:06:39 > 0:06:42if the Canadians are picking up the bill, there's no real harm,
0:06:42 > 0:06:46is there? Finance manager Shirin Bazrcar didn't seem to think so.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52In relation to the holidays, Shirin Bazrcar didn't actually attend
0:06:52 > 0:06:55any of the holidays, but she paid for them with the purchase card.
0:06:55 > 0:06:57OK, so Shirin has paid for them but
0:06:57 > 0:07:01the council's going to get its money back, right?
0:07:01 > 0:07:05I mean, I hope so. Especially when they cost nearly £6,000.
0:07:05 > 0:07:09With suspicions rising about taxpayers' money being used to pay
0:07:09 > 0:07:12for personal holidays, Emma called in Peter
0:07:12 > 0:07:14to be formally interviewed.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17When we interviewed Peter Nicholson under caution, he came out with
0:07:17 > 0:07:20various stories regarding the authorisation of the trips to Canada.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23One story was that Newham had paid for the trip as a reward
0:07:23 > 0:07:24for him getting his OBE.
0:07:24 > 0:07:28Another story was that the Canadian authorities had requested him
0:07:28 > 0:07:30to go and would therefore reimburse us.
0:07:32 > 0:07:34OK, well, which one is it?
0:07:34 > 0:07:37In his interview under caution, he explained further how the
0:07:37 > 0:07:39holidays had been paid for.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42He admitted that he'd signed a payment request note
0:07:42 > 0:07:45so the trip could be paid for by Newham. But again,
0:07:45 > 0:07:48he stated that Newham would get reimbursed.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Nicholson said that the Youth Justice Board had sent him the
0:07:51 > 0:07:54invitation to attend meetings and conferences in Canada,
0:07:54 > 0:07:56and that he was allowed take up to ten people.
0:07:58 > 0:08:02Getting to the bottom of Nicholson's varied excuses fell to
0:08:02 > 0:08:05fraud investigator Rashid Bipul.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09Peter mentioned a few organisations who
0:08:09 > 0:08:12he said would be able to confirm that the conference took place,
0:08:12 > 0:08:15but we couldn't actually locate any of these people.
0:08:15 > 0:08:18He claimed to have a number of e-mails that actually
0:08:18 > 0:08:21proved that these were actually legitimate business trips.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24And he was unable to provide any e-mails to prove that these were
0:08:24 > 0:08:26legitimate business trips.
0:08:26 > 0:08:30So the fact that no-one the fraud investigators spoke to could
0:08:30 > 0:08:33back up Nicholson's story was further evidence that this
0:08:33 > 0:08:36was a not a job, but a jolly.
0:08:36 > 0:08:37But it got worse.
0:08:37 > 0:08:41As Rashid dug deeper, he found out that Nicholson had booked
0:08:41 > 0:08:43time off during the trip as annual leave,
0:08:43 > 0:08:47which suggested that it was a holiday, not a business trip.
0:08:48 > 0:08:51They've got the guy in their sights. Now they turn their attention
0:08:51 > 0:08:55to Shirin. After all, she was the one paying for all this.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Shirin stated that she'd legitimately used the company
0:08:57 > 0:09:01credit card to pay for trips to Canada, as she'd seen
0:09:01 > 0:09:04authorisation from Peter's line manager. But that didn't add up
0:09:04 > 0:09:07because she'd booked those trips prior to Peter
0:09:07 > 0:09:10actually getting authorisation from his line manager.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Unbelievable that despite what seemed like overwhelming evidence,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17the pair continue to deny any wrongdoing.
0:09:18 > 0:09:21Just trying to decide where I should go on my next holiday.
0:09:21 > 0:09:24I fancy skiing in Canada. But unlike Peter Nicholson,
0:09:24 > 0:09:27my trip won't be funded by the Newham taxpayer.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30Blagging a holiday on expenses is one thing,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34allegations of ghost employees, well, that's quite another.
0:09:34 > 0:09:36This is what fraud investigator, Emma Vick,
0:09:36 > 0:09:41would be looking into next. What would her team uncover?
0:09:41 > 0:09:44I went away and spoke to the person he told us would know David Tuck,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46and every time I did that, they all confirmed
0:09:46 > 0:09:48they had never met David.
0:09:53 > 0:09:56For now, though, it's farewell to the fraudsters and thank goodness.
0:09:56 > 0:09:58Hello to people we call our saints.
0:09:58 > 0:10:01Those in society that help others who are in genuine need
0:10:01 > 0:10:04but often too proud, or don't know how,
0:10:04 > 0:10:06to claim what's rightfully theirs.
0:10:10 > 0:10:14Bringing up kids can be exhausting, tiring
0:10:14 > 0:10:17and, quite frankly, drive you round the bend at times.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20But no matter what, we try and do the best for our kids.
0:10:20 > 0:10:24What about, though, if your kid has a disability and whatever you do,
0:10:24 > 0:10:28you just can't provide the environment that they need?
0:10:28 > 0:10:29What do you do then?
0:10:31 > 0:10:35Like lots of new mothers, Cally Laundon had a tricky job
0:10:35 > 0:10:38of balancing the demands of caring for her toddler Madison
0:10:38 > 0:10:40and her work as a veterinary nurse.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44Even though it was tough, everything was going well, until Cally noticed
0:10:44 > 0:10:48that Madison, who'd been born premature, was developing slowly.
0:10:49 > 0:10:52When she got to about 18 months, things didn't really
0:10:52 > 0:10:55progress a lot from there. the main one was speech.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57She didn't really... She started babbling
0:10:57 > 0:11:00but didn't continue. Nothing really went from there.
0:11:00 > 0:11:01She didn't carry on.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03And it wasn't just Madison's
0:11:03 > 0:11:07failure to hit key development milestones that concerned Cally.
0:11:07 > 0:11:09Her biggest worry was her daughter's behaviour.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14I couldn't even just take her round the shops for the day,
0:11:14 > 0:11:18go into town and do anything like that because it was always a fight.
0:11:18 > 0:11:21If she didn't want to do something, she just wouldn't do it.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24Cally's constant battles with Maddy were wearing her down
0:11:24 > 0:11:26and affecting her work.
0:11:28 > 0:11:30I was starting to struggle a bit with my hours.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33I do two 16-hour shifts a week...
0:11:33 > 0:11:37Cally was starting to realise she couldn't juggle work
0:11:37 > 0:11:39and manage her daughter's needs.
0:11:39 > 0:11:43She didn't know whether she was just dealing with a troublesome toddler
0:11:43 > 0:11:47or something more serious. And without the diagnosis she needed,
0:11:47 > 0:11:49she had no-one to turn to for help.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55In desperation, she went to her local child health clinic
0:11:55 > 0:11:56and begged them to take her seriously.
0:11:56 > 0:12:01And I went in there and said, "Something isn't necessarily right.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04"I'm not sure. She's still not talking."
0:12:04 > 0:12:07She then actually agreed that we
0:12:07 > 0:12:10needed a referral to go and see a consultant, to see
0:12:10 > 0:12:13if there was anything going on.
0:12:13 > 0:12:15It was great that she was getting a referral
0:12:15 > 0:12:19but Cally needed help immediately to manage Madison.
0:12:19 > 0:12:22I contacted my health visitor who said that there was
0:12:22 > 0:12:26something that Maddy could be referred to, nursery-wise,
0:12:26 > 0:12:29that actually would help bring her on a bit,
0:12:29 > 0:12:30maybe help with her development.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33Cally had never heard of the Camelia Botnar Centre,
0:12:33 > 0:12:37a nursery for children with special needs, that unlike many others,
0:12:37 > 0:12:39provides support for parents, as well.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43They are referred sometimes through the health visitor or
0:12:43 > 0:12:47child development centre. They are a mix of preschool children.
0:12:47 > 0:12:53Some are speech and language, some are needed to be here
0:12:53 > 0:12:55because of social aspects in their lives.
0:12:55 > 0:12:59The nursery sounded perfect for a child with Madison's needs.
0:12:59 > 0:13:01And straightaway Cally felt like a weight
0:13:01 > 0:13:04had been lifted off her shoulders.
0:13:04 > 0:13:06Me and her dad went round for a meeting,
0:13:06 > 0:13:08instantly felt at home there.
0:13:08 > 0:13:11Maddy went straight in and off she went into the class
0:13:11 > 0:13:13while we had the interview.
0:13:13 > 0:13:16Madison was given a place for two afternoons a week.
0:13:16 > 0:13:19We have a key person system,
0:13:19 > 0:13:24so there is one person that Madison's mum can go to, or myself.
0:13:24 > 0:13:26The highly-trained nursery staff
0:13:26 > 0:13:29immediately tackled Madison's behavioural problems.
0:13:29 > 0:13:34At the moment, the biggest thing I think is that Madison gets
0:13:34 > 0:13:38very frustrated and angry because she can't tell us
0:13:38 > 0:13:41what she wants, she can't make her feelings known.
0:13:41 > 0:13:45At some points during the afternoon, we might take her off to
0:13:45 > 0:13:47the sensory room for some quiet time,
0:13:47 > 0:13:48just chill-out time.
0:13:48 > 0:13:53At last, Cally was starting to have help from nursery staff who really
0:13:53 > 0:13:56seemed to understand Madison.
0:13:56 > 0:13:59It was clear that Madison had much more than to deal with than
0:13:59 > 0:14:01just communication problems.
0:14:01 > 0:14:03The staff at the nursery advised Cally to make this clear to
0:14:03 > 0:14:06the consultant who she was due to meet.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10They then said in the hospital appointment that they thought that
0:14:10 > 0:14:14there was something, but what they decided to do was send in somebody
0:14:14 > 0:14:15to observe her at nursery.
0:14:15 > 0:14:19Cally was desperate to find out what was wrong with her daughter
0:14:19 > 0:14:22and began researching conditions on the internet.
0:14:22 > 0:14:24She soon narrowed down the possibilities
0:14:24 > 0:14:27and put her fears straight to the doctor.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30I just came out and said, "Do you think she's autistic?
0:14:30 > 0:14:32"Is that what you are looking at?"
0:14:32 > 0:14:33and she said yes.
0:14:33 > 0:14:35Following Madison's diagnosis,
0:14:35 > 0:14:38it was the nursery that helped Cally with one of the biggest
0:14:38 > 0:14:41problems she had following Madison's diagnosis - how to cope financially.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44What I was earning, with the little bit of child tax credits
0:14:44 > 0:14:49I was getting, was pretty much what we were using to live on,
0:14:49 > 0:14:50give or take a little bit.
0:14:50 > 0:14:54The nursery team arranged for a benefits expert from the
0:14:54 > 0:14:58local authority to meet Cally and help her with a claim.
0:14:58 > 0:15:02When I first met Cally, the first thing I did was actually sit
0:15:02 > 0:15:04and take the family history.
0:15:04 > 0:15:06The fact that she worked,
0:15:06 > 0:15:09she believed, actually stopped her from claiming any form of benefit
0:15:09 > 0:15:13other than perhaps working tax credits or child tax credits
0:15:13 > 0:15:18and child benefit. So when I worked out the criteria was met for DLA,
0:15:18 > 0:15:23'then I explained the process to her and requesting the DLA form,'
0:15:23 > 0:15:25going through it, waiting for the decision.
0:15:25 > 0:15:30We did get awarded disability living allowance for Madison at home,
0:15:30 > 0:15:34which meant that I could relax a little bit about money and I could
0:15:34 > 0:15:37drop some of the hours that I was working.
0:15:37 > 0:15:40With the extra time Madison got to spend with her mum
0:15:40 > 0:15:43and at the nursery, her development progressed really quickly
0:15:43 > 0:15:48and staff devised a learning plan to help her communicate more clearly.
0:15:48 > 0:15:52They started introducing something called PECKS with her, which is
0:15:52 > 0:15:56picture communication. So she'll actually start being able to tell
0:15:56 > 0:15:59people, "I'm having a tantrum because I want a drink,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01"but I can't tell you I want a drink."
0:16:01 > 0:16:03So she can give them a picture.
0:16:03 > 0:16:07Would you like something else?
0:16:07 > 0:16:09More raisins?
0:16:09 > 0:16:13For Cally, Jill and the rest of the staff at the nursery are
0:16:13 > 0:16:19the reason why she's been able to cope with having an autistic child.
0:16:19 > 0:16:23They've had quite long chats with me regarding choices of mainstream
0:16:23 > 0:16:26schools or special education schools.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30I've also thought about deferring Madison's school year.
0:16:30 > 0:16:34The nursery have offered to keep her another year if I do that,
0:16:34 > 0:16:38to give her a bit more time to develop to be ready for school.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42There'll be plenty more challenges for Cally as Madison grows older,
0:16:42 > 0:16:45but knowing that there's someone there that can help with her
0:16:45 > 0:16:49specific needs means that the future's a lot brighter
0:16:49 > 0:16:50for both of them.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Well, that's enough good news for now. Let's return to our scroungers.
0:16:58 > 0:17:04In 2006, Newham's fraud unit started an internal investigation
0:17:04 > 0:17:06into the council's Youth Offending Team.
0:17:06 > 0:17:10Investigators suspected that the head of the department,
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Peter Nicholson OBE, in collusion with his finance manager
0:17:14 > 0:17:18Shirin Bazrcar, had been using council money for personal trips.
0:17:20 > 0:17:22So at this stage, you're aware that
0:17:22 > 0:17:27- Peter Nicholson is getting subsidised, free travel...- Yeah.
0:17:27 > 0:17:29..around the world. Very nice, too.
0:17:29 > 0:17:34What I'm not sure about is why Shirin Bazrcar is signing off on
0:17:34 > 0:17:36this stuff, because it's her name on the sheet, it seems,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39but she doesn't seem to be getting anywhere near as much from it,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43- just all the risk.- It did look as if she was doing the signing off
0:17:43 > 0:17:44and not getting any of the benefit.
0:17:44 > 0:17:48From the team's investigation into misuse of council cash
0:17:48 > 0:17:52for personal holidays, it was unclear if Shirin was involved.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55However, when the team turned their attention to the more serious
0:17:55 > 0:17:57allegations of ghost employees,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00she came firmly under the spotlight again.
0:18:01 > 0:18:05As well as being a member of staff on the Youth Offending Team,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08Shirin was also a director of Excel Staffing Solutions...
0:18:09 > 0:18:13..a job agency that supplied temporary staff to the department.
0:18:13 > 0:18:16The agency, which has since ceased trading,
0:18:16 > 0:18:19did provide genuine staff to the Youth Offending Team
0:18:19 > 0:18:23but it was fictitious workers that Emma was interested in.
0:18:24 > 0:18:28We wanted to investigate the allegations into the ghost employees.
0:18:28 > 0:18:31There were several names flying around at the time, so I went and
0:18:31 > 0:18:33found the time sheets and the invoices in relation to both
0:18:33 > 0:18:35Sharon Browne and David Tuck.
0:18:35 > 0:18:39Both Sharon Browne and David Tuck were temporary members
0:18:39 > 0:18:42of staff with Newham, which meant that they were actually employed
0:18:42 > 0:18:46by employment agencies who got paid and, in turn, paid them.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49David Tuck? I've heard that somewhere before.
0:18:49 > 0:18:53And so had Emma. Tuck was none other than Nicholson's ski-buddy
0:18:53 > 0:18:55on his trips to Canada.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58The investigating team immediately started to look
0:18:58 > 0:19:01more closely at his background.
0:19:01 > 0:19:04We found out that David Tuck was in fact a self-employed lift engineer.
0:19:04 > 0:19:08He had his own company called Lads Construction. In addition to this,
0:19:08 > 0:19:11later on we found out he was a close personal friend of Peter's.
0:19:11 > 0:19:14Emma could see from payroll evidence that he'd been working
0:19:14 > 0:19:18for the Youth Offending Team, but when she asked other people
0:19:18 > 0:19:23in the department about him, it was clear that he kept a low profile.
0:19:23 > 0:19:26Our main investigation focused on the fact that nobody had ever met him.
0:19:26 > 0:19:28We spent a lot of time talking to people in Newham,
0:19:28 > 0:19:30as nobody had seen him.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33So nobody in Newham Council remembered Tuck
0:19:33 > 0:19:35apart from Nicholson?
0:19:35 > 0:19:38That sounds really dodgy. What about the other name
0:19:38 > 0:19:41investigators had come across, Sharon Browne?
0:19:41 > 0:19:44In relation to Sharon Browne, we visited the employment agency
0:19:44 > 0:19:47and retrieved the personnel file that they held for her.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50In that file, there was her application form that showed
0:19:50 > 0:19:53the colleges she'd attended, previous work experience,
0:19:53 > 0:19:56and home address and national insurance number.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01Emma's colleague, fraud investigator Rashid Bipul, didn't waste any time
0:20:01 > 0:20:02following up this lead.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04We went to the university
0:20:04 > 0:20:08and found that Sharon Browne had never actually studied there.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10We checked with national insurance
0:20:10 > 0:20:14and found out that the national insurance number didn't even exist.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18We checked with our local borough.
0:20:18 > 0:20:21She was registered as being resident in Newham.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23She didn't exist in Newham at all.
0:20:26 > 0:20:28Browne wasn't an actual person,
0:20:28 > 0:20:31but on paper, she was made to look real.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34Emma's team were now convinced that both Browne
0:20:34 > 0:20:36and Tuck were ghost employees.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39They suspected the pair had never lifted a finger for the council
0:20:39 > 0:20:41but they were being paid.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44The question is, how much?
0:20:44 > 0:20:48Sharon Browne was paid around £43,000.
0:20:48 > 0:20:51David Tuck was paid just under £100,000,
0:20:51 > 0:20:54that included a redundancy payment of just over £3,000.
0:20:56 > 0:20:59It was looking like the fraudsters had ripped off the council
0:20:59 > 0:21:04to the tune of nearly £150,000.
0:21:04 > 0:21:09The big question for Emma was now, who was paying out all this cash?
0:21:09 > 0:21:12The majority of the time sheets had been signed by Peter Nicholson.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Some had also been signed by Shirin Bazrcar.
0:21:15 > 0:21:16They were both involved.
0:21:16 > 0:21:20At last, the time sheets provided a direct link between
0:21:20 > 0:21:22the prime suspects and a major fraud.
0:21:22 > 0:21:27This was a result, but Emma's team still needed more evidence and they
0:21:27 > 0:21:31got another major breakthrough when they decided to call in an expert.
0:21:31 > 0:21:35We sent off the application pack to a handwriting expert with
0:21:35 > 0:21:38some samples of all of the known suspects' handwriting.
0:21:38 > 0:21:41The result came back that, actually, Peter had completed
0:21:41 > 0:21:42the whole of the application pack.
0:21:42 > 0:21:44I beg your pardon?
0:21:44 > 0:21:47Peter Nicholson himself had filled out the application form belonging
0:21:47 > 0:21:49to the ghost employee.
0:21:49 > 0:21:52Surely no excuses could save him now.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55I reckon the Youth Offending Team might need to change its name.
0:21:55 > 0:21:58In that corrupt department, it wasn't just the kids
0:21:58 > 0:21:59who were crossing the line.
0:21:59 > 0:22:04But with evidence mounting against Peter Nicholson OBE,
0:22:04 > 0:22:07the investigators still needed to find proof
0:22:07 > 0:22:09of Shirin's involvement in the fraud.
0:22:11 > 0:22:16Shirin must have been making a tidy sum of money, creaming a percentage
0:22:16 > 0:22:20of what came into her agency. But where were the actual wages going?
0:22:21 > 0:22:25Wanting to find out, the pair were called back in for an interview.
0:22:26 > 0:22:30Shirin was finally interviewed in November 2009.
0:22:30 > 0:22:36She was quite calm through the interview and she suggested that she
0:22:36 > 0:22:38did everything legitimately,
0:22:38 > 0:22:41and having had higher authorisation to do them.
0:22:41 > 0:22:45Shirin said that she could provide further evidence to show that
0:22:45 > 0:22:47David Tuck legitimately worked for us.
0:22:47 > 0:22:51She said that she could provide with time sheets and e-mails and so on.
0:22:51 > 0:22:52She never did.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58Rashid had spoken to a lot of people in the Youth Offending Team
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and external agencies that worked that with the team,
0:23:01 > 0:23:04and no-one had recognised the name David Tuck.
0:23:05 > 0:23:08So now, Shirin and Nicholson were the only two people
0:23:08 > 0:23:11in the whole of Newham Council that could confirm Tuck had
0:23:11 > 0:23:15worked there, and neither of them could provide evidence that he had.
0:23:17 > 0:23:20Emma's team felt they had enough evidence on Peter
0:23:20 > 0:23:21and Shirin to charge them
0:23:21 > 0:23:25with conspiracy to defraud the council and money laundering.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28And just before the trial, her fraud team
0:23:28 > 0:23:30got some interesting information
0:23:30 > 0:23:34when Shirin gave the court documents that she hoped would clear her name.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38Another employee's name bubbled to the surface, a gentleman called
0:23:38 > 0:23:42Alex Brown. And the investigators decided to look him up.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51As part of the trial, Shirin Bazrcar had to serve a defence statement.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54In her defence statement, she mentioned that the money that ended
0:23:54 > 0:23:57up in her bank account was in relation to an employee
0:23:57 > 0:24:00called Alex Brown. I searched the computer systems
0:24:00 > 0:24:04and found several time sheets in the name of Alex Brown.
0:24:04 > 0:24:08Each time sheet had a personal home address for Alex Brown.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11Myself and Rashid decided to drive to the address and see who
0:24:11 > 0:24:12we could find there.
0:24:12 > 0:24:15When we got there, the door was answered by an elderly lady.
0:24:15 > 0:24:18We asked the lady if she knew Alex Brown and she said she'd
0:24:18 > 0:24:21never heard of him and she confirmed that he'd never lived there.
0:24:21 > 0:24:25We also asked her if she knew Shirin Bazrcar and she confirmed that Shirin
0:24:25 > 0:24:27was actually her daughter.
0:24:29 > 0:24:31Hold on a second. Her daughter?
0:24:32 > 0:24:34So Alex Brown was another ghost,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38but how much money did he steal from Newham and where did it go?
0:24:38 > 0:24:41So you eventually looked through Shirin Bazrcar's work computer.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43What did you find on that?
0:24:43 > 0:24:45I was going through the payment schedules in relation to
0:24:45 > 0:24:47all of the people we've ever employed at the YOT,
0:24:47 > 0:24:50and I just happened to notice the surname that
0:24:50 > 0:24:53I knew was connected to Shirin's home address where her mother lived.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55And lo and behold, that was her sister.
0:24:55 > 0:24:59So then I went and checked with anybody at the Youth Offending Team,
0:24:59 > 0:25:02did they think we'd ever employed her? And obviously we hadn't.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07So that was the sister, another revenue stream we've got coming out.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10So there we have it. That's the reason that Shirin Bazrcar
0:25:10 > 0:25:14was signing all of this off, is because she herself had set up
0:25:14 > 0:25:17two ghost employees that she could siphon money
0:25:17 > 0:25:21out of the borough with, and out of that she was making over £100,000.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24Well over £100,000, yes. Definitely worth her while.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31Bingo. You see, sometimes it seems that all you need to do
0:25:31 > 0:25:35is dangle a carrot. And in Shirin's case, it was her own
0:25:35 > 0:25:39defence statement which gave Emma the clue to her involvement
0:25:39 > 0:25:40in the whole sorry tale.
0:25:44 > 0:25:47And this new evidence revealed even more taxpayers' money
0:25:47 > 0:25:50that had been spent on lavish lifestyles
0:25:50 > 0:25:53instead of the young people of Newham.
0:25:55 > 0:25:58In April 2012, Peter Nicholson, Shirin Bazrcar
0:25:58 > 0:26:01and David Tuck went on trial.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06All three pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to defraud and
0:26:06 > 0:26:10money laundering. But after a lengthy eight-week trial,
0:26:10 > 0:26:11they were found guilty.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17This was a long, complex and costly investigation.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19I started looking at it in December 2006,
0:26:19 > 0:26:23and we eventually went to trial in April 2012.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27The judge sentenced Peter Nicholson to five-and-a-half years in prison.
0:26:27 > 0:26:29He sentenced Shirin Bazrcar to four years in prison,
0:26:29 > 0:26:31and David Tuck to 18 months.
0:26:33 > 0:26:38The total loss to Newham as a result of this fraud was just over £280,000
0:26:38 > 0:26:42Thanks to the hard work of Newham's fraud team, funds that were
0:26:42 > 0:26:47being diverted now found their way to people that really needed them.
0:26:47 > 0:26:50And although the ghost employees may not have been real,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53the sentences handed down to this trio certainly were.