{"id":13483,"date":"2017-02-13T14:58:58","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T14:58:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/?p=13483"},"modified":"2017-02-13T14:58:58","modified_gmt":"2017-02-13T14:58:58","slug":"h2o-networks-fibre-optic-fraudsters-sent-prison-total-44-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ispreview.co.uk\/index.php\/2017\/02\/h2o-networks-fibre-optic-fraudsters-sent-prison-total-44-years.html","title":{"rendered":"H2O Networks Fibre Optic Fraudsters Sent to Prison for Total of 44 Years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week we reported on the case of four men who had been found guilty of a \u00a3160m financing fraud that involved\u00a0Total Asset Finance (TAF) and H2O Networks Ltd. (here<\/a>), which was one of the UK’s early FTTH<\/a>\/P network pioneers. The men have now been sentenced to a total of 44 years in jail.<\/p>\n

Back in 2010 H2O was still part of the now defunct i3 Group and they had been busy trying to roll-out ultrafast FTTP<\/a>\/H broadband networks across several UK cities, such as Bournemouth<\/strong> and Dundee<\/strong>, albeit with limited success (contractor disputes, shoddy street works etc.). The scheme received its funding from Total Asset Finance<\/strong> (TAF), which itself had managed to attract a huge investment from Barclays Bank and KBC Lease (UK) Ltd.<\/p>\n

However an investigation by the Serious Fraud Office<\/strong> (SFO) discovered that the company had defrauded KBC of \u00a3142 million<\/strong> and Barclays Asset Finance of \u00a316.8 million<\/strong>. Both Stephen Dartnell and George Alexander of TAF, as well as Carl Cumiskey of H2O and Simon Mundy, who worked for KBC, were all found guilty.<\/p>\n

The jury was told that there was “no dispute that fraud on a massive scale had occurred, but the defendants denied involvement and, in the main, blamed each other<\/em>.” The court heard that Dartnell, Alexander and Cumiskey had conspired to “create, sign and sell falsely inflated or entirely false contracts<\/em>” from the company H2O to business lenders.<\/p>\n

Key to all of this was Mundy, who had been paid \u00a3881,000<\/strong> by Dartnell to act as an “inside man<\/em>” at KBC and approve the funding provided by KBC to TAF. The Southwark Crown Court has now sentenced all four to a total of 44 years in jail.<\/p>\n

Judge Gledhill QC said:<\/strong><\/p>\n

“The evidence against each of you was compelling. Not one of you has accepted dishonest involvement in these offences. Of course, you have each accepted that with hindsight that fraud was committed, but have sought to exonerate yourselves. One of the least attractive aspects of the case has been the attempts of each of you to blame others, including each other, for what happened.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The judge’s sentencing remarks are well worth a read (here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Count and Sentence:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

George Alexander<\/strong> \u2013 Guilty on two counts of conspiracy to commit fraud by false representation,<\/p>\n