Jersey Unreported Judgments

[2010]JRC022

ROYAL COURT

(Samedi Division)

22^nd January 2010

Before     :

Sir Philip Bailhache, Kt., Commissioner and Jurats de Veulle and Le Brocq.

The Attorney General

-v-

Paul Andrew Self

Sentencing by the Inferior Number of the Royal Court, after conviction at Assize trial on 17^th December, 2009, on charges of:

2 counts of:	Forgery (Counts 1 and 3).
1 count of:	Obtaining money by false pretences (Count 4).
3 counts of:	Fraudulent conversion (Counts 5, 7, and 9).
1 count of:	Driving a motor vehicle with an alcohol concentration above the prescribed limit, contrary to Article 28(1) of the Road Traffic (Jersey) Law 1956 (Count 10).

Age:  52.

Plea: Guilty.

Details of Offence:

Forgery and Obtaining Money by False Pretences.

The offences were committed between 15th April, 2005 and 21^st September, 2006.

Self and another set up a company to progress a redevelopment project at the harbour.  They obtained banking facilities and a bank overdraft.  As part of the process of obtaining the banking facilities, Self provided the bank with a letter, purporting to emanate from BNP Paribas, stating that Self had two accounts with BNP Paribas containing a total £268,840.  In fact, Self did not have any funds with BNP Paribas, had cut and pasted text into a letter he had received from BNP Paribas. 

The mandates for the bank accounts required two signatories and, in particular for cheques over £5,000, those signatories had to be Self and the other director.  Self wrote a cheque payable to himself in the sum of £11,509 and forged the other director's signature.  The cheque was cashed and the monies paid to Self (the obtaining by false pretences).  Self then wrote a cheque for £13,000 payable to a company of which he was the sole director, and again forged his fellow director's signature. 

As those cheques had been cleared through the bank account, the overdraft was approaching its limit and Self took steps to obtain a finance lease to clear the overdraft.  He forged invoices in the sum of £53,970 purportedly showing that the company had purchased and paid for catering equipment.  It had not. 

Self then forged a letter to the bank removing his co-director as a signatory on the account. 

Driving with excess alcohol.

At approximately 02 25 hours in the morning, whilst on bail for the other offences, a vehicle Self was driving was stopped and he was breathalysed.  A blood sample was subsequently taken at Police Headquarters and Self was found to have 212 milligrams of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood. 

Details of Mitigation:

Forgery and obtaining money by false pretences.

Self was interviewed in relation to the offences of forgery and obtaining by false pretences and repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Self had previous convictions for dishonesty, false accounting, making forging equipment, using a false instrument and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Self finally admitted the criminality in the social enquiry report but there were no mitigating factors in the social enquiry report.  Delay in concluding this matter was not a mitigating factor. 

Driving with excess alcohol.

Plea.

Previous Convictions:

Dishonesty, false accounting, the production of forging equipment, using a false instrument and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Conclusions:

Count 1:	3 years' imprisonment.
Count 3:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 5:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 7:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 9:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 10:	1 month's imprisonment, consecutive, plus 24 months' disqualification from driving.

Total:  3 years' and 1 month's imprisonment plus 24 months' disqualification from driving and ordered to take a re-test.

Disqualification for a period of 7 years under Article 78 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 from being a director of a company, being in any other way directly or indirectly concerned or taking part in the management of a company or being in Jersey in any way directly or indirectly concerned or taking part in the management of a body incorporated outside Jersey;

Request for contribution to costs of Crown under Article 2 of the Costs in Criminal Cases (Jersey) Law 1961.

Sentence and Observations of Court:

Sentencing following a trial.  Tens of thousands of pounds involved in offences with an element of breach of trust, committed over approximately 12 months.  Pre-meditated and relatively sophisticated series of offences which required expert evidence to be adduced.  Previous convictions for similar offences. 

3 years' starting point. 

Count 1:	3 years' imprisonment.
Count 3:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 4:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 5:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 7:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 9:	3 years' imprisonment, concurrent.
Count 10:	1 month's imprisonment, concurrent, plus 24 months' disqualification from driving.

Total:  3 years' imprisonment plus 24 months' disqualification from driving and ordered to take a re-test.

Disqualification for a period of 7 years under Article 78 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991 from being a director of a company, being in any other way directly or indirectly concerned or taking part in the management of a company or being in Jersey in any way directly or indirectly concerned or taking part in the management of a body incorporated outside Jersey;

Contribution of £30,000 to costs of the prosecution ordered.

D. M. Cadin, Esq., Crown Advocate.

Advocate O. A. Blakeley for the Defendant.

JUDGMENT

THE commissioner:

1.        Self is to be sentenced on 5 counts of forgery and 1 count of obtaining by false pretences, of which offences he was convicted by verdict of the Jury after a trial.  The total amount of money involved was many tens of thousands of pounds.  There was an element of breach of trust in so far as his business partner was concerned and the offences were committed over a period of 12 months. 

2.        We have taken into account the other factors mentioned in R-v-Barrick (1985) 7 Cr. App. R. (S) 142.  This was a pre-meditated and relatively sophisticated series of offences which required expert evidence to be given at trial.  The defendant has previous convictions for similar offences. 

3.        Defence counsel accepted that 3 years' imprisonment was the proper starting point.  We were not impressed by the argument that there had been delay which justified the view that there should be some reduction in sentence.  Self now admits that he acted dishonestly.  If he had admitted that at the start there would have been no delay at all.  The Defendant has expressed some regret but we agree with the Crown Advocate that there are no mitigating factors which justify any reduction in sentence from the starting point. 

4.        The conclusions are therefore granted in so far as the offences of dishonesty are concerned and you are sentenced to 3 years' imprisonment on each of those Counts.  We also impose a sentence of 1 month's imprisonment on the offence of Count 10 but applying the totality factor, we will make that concurrent with the other sentences. 

5.        You are disqualified from holding a driving licence for a period of 2 years and you are also disqualified as a director for a period of 7 years pursuant to Article 78 of the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991. 

6.        I order you to pay a sum not exceeding £30,000 towards the costs of the Prosecution.  

Authorities

Companies (Jersey) Law 1991.

Whelan on Aspects of Sentencing in the Superior Court of Jersey.

Governo-v-AG [1987-88] JLR N 21a.

AG-v-Barnes [2002] JLR N 13.

AG-v-Nelson 2002/199.

AG-v-Speck [2004] JRC 100.

AG-v-Cardoso [2009] JRC 044.

R-v-Barrick (1985) 7 Cr. App. R. (S) 142.

AG-v-Mahe [2000] JLR N 47a and b.

Sinclair-v-AG[1995] JLR N 28d.

Cooper-v-AG [2001] JLR N 2.

Izodia Plc-v-RBSI [2006] JLR 346.