Source: All England Reporter
Publisher Citation: [2007] All ER (D) 175 (Jan)
Court: Court of Appeal, Criminal Division
Judge:

Sir Igor Judge P, Gibbs and Roderick Evans JJ
Representation Piers Reed (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the first defendant.
  David Osborne, solicitor advocate (assigned by the Registrar of Criminal Appeals) for the second defendant.
  Thomas Buxton (instructed by the Serious Fraud Office) for the Crown.
Judgment Dates: 24 January 2007

Catchwords

Sentence - Imprisonment - Length of sentence - Fraudulent trading - Defendants being directors of company - Fraudulent withdrawals from client account - Losses of over £4m - Whether sentences imposed manifestly excessive.

The Case

In the instant case, where the defendants pleaded guilty to fraudulent trading, having fraudulently withdrawn money from a client account of a company of which they were directors, resulting in a loss of around 4.2m, in all the circumstances, the sentence imposed on the second defendant of four-and-a-half years' imprisonment was not manifestly excessive; however, the sentence imposed on the first defendant of three years and nine months' imprisonment was manifestly excessive given his level of involvement and personal mitigation. Accordingly, his sentence would be quashed and a sentence of two-and-a-half years' imprisonment substituted.

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