ASSETS OF CONVICTED DISTRACTION BURGLAR WHO PREYED ON ELDERLY
2 Mar 2006 11:15 AM
The Agency has been granted a Property Freezing Order over assets
held by William Cawley Senior of Cricklewood, London NW2. Mr Cawley
is currently serving a four and a half year prison sentence for
distraction burglaries across the UK including Derbyshire, where
vulnerable and elderly people were tricked into letting bogus
policemen into their homes whilst accomplices stole cash and pension
books.
The Agency contends that Mr Cawley acquired the Cricklewood house,
estimated value £300,000, and a Fiat Ducato motor home from the
proceeds of unlawful activity. The Property Freezing Order prevents
Mr Cawley from dealing with the property specified in the Order in
any way whilst the Agency continues investigations. In addition to
restraining the house and motor home a number of bank accounts have
been frozen. The Agency executed a search and seizure warrant at his
home address yesterday and took away a number of documents to assist
them in their enquiries.
Jane Earl, Director of the Agency said "The Agency uses its unique
powers to make sure that crime does not pay. In this case we have
grounds to believe that assets have been acquired that could not have
been funded from legitimate income. Property Freezing Orders enable
us to conduct comprehensive investigations knowing that assets cannot
be disposed of before the Court determines whether, on the balance of
probabilities, they have been acquired with the proceeds of crime."
Mr Cawley pleaded guilty at Derby Crown Court to fourteen counts of
distraction type burglary and, on 20 December 2005, was sentenced to
4 1/2 years imprisonment. He has a lengthy criminal record of 21
convictions for 39 offences spanning 26 years. At his trial it was
shown that he had benefited from these particular crimes in the sum
of £1,580 and this amount was confiscated. Derbyshire Constabulary
acted swiftly and referred the case to ARA who have the powers to
pursue a civil case through the High Court and can look back over a
period of up to twelve years.
Derbyshire Constabulary's Assistant Chief Constable Mick Creedon said
"This group were travelling all over the country committing offences
as they went along. The impact these offences have on their victims
many elderly, infirm or disabled is huge. One woman was so
traumatised she's been unable to sleep properly since, another victim
has been left wanting to move home and a gentleman was admitted to
hospital because of the trauma.
"Increasingly the way to hurt many career criminal criminals is by
going after their assets. Hopefully attacking these assets hits
criminals where it hurts and removes from them the very motivation
and reason they commit crime.
"We want them to know they are not untouchable, and in addition we
want to stop the role models who set the wrong example to younger
people - crime must not be seen to pay."
Notes for Editors:
1. Before the introduction of Property Freezing Orders, the Agency
could apply to the High Court for only two types of restraint, an
Interim Receiving Order which required an Interim Receiver (an
independent officer of the Court) to carry out their own
investigation into the provenance of funds, or a Freezing Order
together with a claim form which specified particular assets; this
restricted the Agency from widening their investigation. PFO's allow
the Agency to continue investigations into a respondent's financial
affairs in order to determine whether assets have been acquired
through unlawful activity whilst at the same time ensuring that the
assets under investigation cannot be dissipated.
2. The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 created the Assets Recovery Agency
and provided completely new powers to allow ARA to seek a criminal
confiscation or civil recovery of the proceeds of unlawful activity
by an action in the Crown or High Court respectively. The Agency can
also issue tax assessments where there are reasonable grounds to
suspect that there is taxable income, gain or profit from criminal
conduct.
3. The Agency is playing its part in the multi-agency approach to
deliver the Government's Asset Recovery Strategy. Under the cross
government initiative 'Payback', the tracing of and recovery of
assets is seen as an important element in the delivery of justice,
and sends out a strong deterrent message. The overall aims of the
strategy are to make greater use of the investigations of criminal
assets in the fight against crime; recover money that has been made
from crime or which is intended for use in crime; prevent criminals
and their associates from laundering the proceeds of criminal
conduct, and detect and penalise such laundering where it occurs; to
use the proceeds recovered for the benefit of the community.
4. Assets are usually restrained at an early stage in the Agency's
proceedings. Interim Receiving Orders, Freezing Orders or Property
Freezing Orders are granted where ARA has presented a good arguable
case to the High Court that assets have been unlawfully acquired - at
this stage only the Agency's initial arguments have been heard.
Respondents then have the opportunity to present any facts to counter
the Agency's arguments.
Assets Recovery Agency, PO Box 39992
London EC4M 7XQ
T +44 (020) 7029 5700
F +44 (020) 7029 5706
E enquiries@ara.gsi.gov.uk www.assetsrecovery.gov.uk