Hull gangmaster conned paperboy into taking over shop in bid to escape £1.5m crime assets bill
A GANGMASTER gave away his newsagent's shop to a paperboy to avoid handing over £1.5m from his criminal empire.
Kuldip Singh was jailed for three months for contempt of court after conning paperboy Dale Dixon, 18, into taking over his shop in Lowgate, Sutton.
The teenager, who earned just over £3 an hour delivering papers for Singh, thought his luck was in when Singh offered to pay him £1,000 to take over his shop and become a director.
But Singh, of Kingswood, was trying to hide his assets to con financial investigators into believing he had no money.
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Prosecutor Ed Bindloss said: "Singh purported to sell his business but in effect gave away his business to paperboy Dale Dixon.
"He told him he wanted to step down and let him become the new director of the shop. Dale thought it would be a promotion and more money."
Singh, 49, had been banned from selling any of his property by the court pending a proceeds of crime hearing.
The hearing followed his conviction for supplying migrant workers to three horticultural firms in the East Riding without a licence.
The court ruled Singh had benefited from his criminal conduct to the tune of £1.5m.
But just a month before the court made its final ruling in June last year, Singh tried to sign over his shop, which was valued at more than £100,000 and was his main source of income, to his paperboy.
The paperboy only realised something was amiss when Singh tried to put his name on the water bills and asked him to sign contracts with his suppliers.
The sports science student refused because he did not have a bank account.
Singh claimed he did it because of the "bad publicity" surrounding his gangmaster conviction and denied a charge of contempt of court.
But, after hearing evidence, Judge Jeremy Richardson QC, sitting at Hull Crown Court, found him guilty, describing it as a "crude" attempt by Singh to conceal his assets.
He said: "It was not a sophisticated enterprise but it was utterly deliberate.
"One month before your hearing, you endeavoured in a very meaningful way to dispense of your business, you made a paperboy a director of your business.
"You have given me an entirely bogus explanation as to why you did that.
"It must be made very clear that any individual who breaches a restraining order that an immediate sentence of imprisonment is highly likely. If word gets about that the court doesn't take this seriously, then it will encourage individuals like yourself, who have been thoroughly dishonest, to be even more dishonest.
"In my judgment, an immediate custodial sentence is demanded.
"You have been thoroughly dishonest. This wholly bogus enterprise had to be ascertained by financial investigators."
The court heard Singh made £1,562,970 through his crimes but has £314,138 in assets. Under the Proceeds of Crime Act, he has been ordered to sell his business, his family land in India and six cars to pay back the money he made through his crimes.
Singh, of Rivelin Park, Kingswood, has failed to repay the money and now faces another hearing next month where he could be jailed for a further three and a half years in prison for default of payment.
Singh was sentenced to six months' imprisonment, suspended for two years, in 2009 after admitting offences under the Gangmaster Licensing Act.
Singh was brought to justice after an investigation by the UK Border Agency Immigration Crime Team into his activities.
They discovered Singh had illegally supplied workers to three East Riding firms through his companies Diamond Employment Agency and Opiecare Ltd between November 2006 and June 2008.
He had applied for a gangmaster licence but, although his application was refused, he continued to supply workers illegally.
Comments
by WykeTyke
Thursday, November 22 2012, 9:23PM
“Looks like he's scamming these rating as well.”
by Dave_Navarro
Monday, November 19 2012, 10:40AM
“Miksteel 66, it is common knowledge that English workers don't want these "horticulture" jobs and if they do take them they are no good at them because they are lazy and not used to hard work.
The migrant workers who take the jobs are happy to work and consider it a lot of money compared to what they are used to.
If the English workers don't want the jobs but the migrant workers do then what does it matter.
Do you really think official invoices are issued for this sort of transaction.
And Miksteel where exactly should we deport an English person to. Just because he has a tan it doesn't make him an illegal immigrant.”
by miksteel_66
Monday, November 19 2012, 9:15AM
“Well MR ****adelics, aside from the fact that he tried to dupe a 12 year old child into covering his tracks, there is the moral issue of exploiting desperate people into working for peanuts so he can rake in millions when there are enough unemployed here who want to earn a living wage to pay rent and mortgages and to feed their families. They all get bypassed so the job centres and Dss here are powerless to help. I think all you s"$$£%^^&s who condone and support this racket are on his payroll and are exploiters yourself. I am heading a campaign to clean up this sort of **** from happening and turn/keep Hull, Hull not Hell..”
by shagadelics
Sunday, November 18 2012, 9:33PM
“and this is a crime why?”
by miksteel_66
Sunday, November 18 2012, 8:58PM
“What Mr Singh offers is not employment, its the exploitation of others of which he benefits from, to Mr Dave Navarro, police dont pick figures from thin air they actually look at envoices from when a whisleblower reports these vile activities--dopey-- People like you should be locked up with him for aiding and abetting the likes of him. He should be deported and never allowed to run another business again. What he does is undercuts any firm that wants to give its workers a decent wage (why do you think they are migrant workers )”
by ghostwriter69
Sunday, November 18 2012, 8:41PM
“cueball44
Saturday, November 17 2012, 3:39PM
"by bt13jz. I can't get myself to use the arrow markers, any way what's the point of them, they get misused just like the voting system."
You're a poor loser cueball. You wouldn't have had a problem with the voting system if Lard Prescott had been voted in. Maybe you shouldn't have been so arrogant about his chances of winning then you wouldn't have been left looking so stupid.
Still singing?”
by trevmille
Sunday, November 18 2012, 5:38PM
“Why would we deport Kuldip? He isn't an illegal immigrant. He and his family have run businesses and lived in the area for several years. He may of been foolish or misguided, but so have others.”
by b00001
Sunday, November 18 2012, 1:59PM
“If he can get people back into work at the rate he does he should be running the DSS and being paid 1.5m a year.”
by Dave_Navarro
Sunday, November 18 2012, 11:28AM
“Where do the police get these figures for the "proceeds of crime".
Mr Singh is supposed to have profited by 1.52 million pounds in only a few years by running an employment agency without a licence.
They must just grab the figures out of the air.
It is hardly the worst crime in the world but he is expected to pay the police 1.52 million pounds just because he didn't have a licence.
You can mug and beat an old lady in the street and get fined £100 but provide cheap labour to farmers and have to pay £1,500,000 - it just doesn't make sense.”
by Dave_Navarro
Sunday, November 18 2012, 11:27AM
“Where do the police get these figures for the "proceeds of crime".
Mr Singh is supposed to have profited by 1.52 million pounds in only a few years by running an employment agency without a licence.
They must just grab the figures out of the air.
It is hardly the worst crime in the world but he is expected to pay the police 1.52 million pounds just because he didn't have a licence.
You can mug and beat an old lady in the street and get fined £100 but provide cheap labour to farmers and have to pay £1,500,000 - it just doesn't make sense.”