Following a trial at Southwark Crown Court, heard over the course of six months, the jury returned 15 guilty verdicts across all 8 counts on the indictment against 5 individuals and 2 companies in respect of offences of fraudulent trading and engaging in unfair and aggressive commercial practice.
The prosecution was the culmination of Operation Emperor, a five-year investigation by Tower Hamlets and National Trading Standards into extensive allegations of fraud and malpractice at a succession of six letting agencies in London.
The victims, often young, students, or from abroad, were lured into paying holding deposits and/or advance rent for properties which they were prevented from viewing, were not as advertised, and were sometimes barely habitable. They were also made subject to unlawful licence agreements and exposed to illegal eviction.
Richard Heller and Grace Forbes, assisted by Daniel Mullin and Rebecca Malczewski, were instructed by Jonathan Melnick at the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
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