Fraudster flees before jail sentence
A conman was on the run today after becoming the 12th person to be convicted for his involvement in a West Midlands-based fraud ring which claimed £300,000 in tax credits through inventing false children.
A conman was on the run today after becoming the 12th person to be convicted for his involvement in a West Midlands-based fraud ring which claimed £300,000 in tax credits through inventing false children.
Police and customs officers are hunting Simon Youngsam after he was jailed for three years in his absence at Birmingham Crown Court.
The 29-year-old from Wattville Road, Handsworth, disappeared in the middle of a trial last week but a jury found him guilty of conspiracy after he pocketed almost £18,300 in the fraud.
A warrant has been issued for his arrest and detectives today appealed to the community to help them catch him.
His was the final case to come to court, along with a 22-year-old woman from Derbyshire. Ten others were jailed for a total of 20 years in June last year. Among the fraudsters was 23-year-old Sabrina Shirley from West Bromwich. She was jailed for two years and three months for her part in the fraud, which saw her pocket almost £20,500.
The fraud involved around 50 false tax credit claims, many of which had been made through identity hijacking – stealing the identity of innocent people between 2003 and 2005.
The claims involved inventing false names for children, in some cases twins, false childcare records and false employment details of the person whose identity they had stolen.
The others convicted in the scam were: Moniqua Lacaara Jeffers, 22, of Handel Street, Allenton, Derby; Kizzy Beckford, 26, of Little Hall Road, Nechells, Birmingham; Alethea Thompson, 23, of Medway Tower, Cromwell Street, Aston, Birmingham; Lovinia Thompson, 27, of Pleck Walk, Walkers Heath, Birmingham; Michelle Davis, 31, of Farquhar Road, London; Trevor Lobban, also known as Trevor Clarke, 31, of Leslie Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham; Adrian Smith, 27, of Gregory Boulevard, Nottingham; Kenneth Ramplin, 68, of Wrentham Street, Highgate, Birmingham; Monique Gray, 24, of Medway Tower, Cromwell Street, Aston, Birmingham.
A further defendant, Hannah Fraser, 20, of Lighthorne Avenue, Ladywood, was also sentenced at Derby Crown Court in July on money laundering offences.
Anyone who knows of Youngsam's whereabouts should call police on 0845 113 5000.
