On Monday, [30 September] two men were sentenced at Cardiff Crown Court after being previously found guilty of falsely claiming to be part of the Security Industry Authority run Approved Contractor Scheme.
In March, Dean Campisi, of Alpha Place, Port Talbot and Stephen Bosher, of Longford Road, Neath were convicted after claiming that their security company, Secure Serve Facilities Management Services Limited (Secure Serve), was ACS accredited in order to maintain a lucrative security contract with supermarket chain Lidl.
The court heard how Bosher, 32, and Campisi, 51, used fake documentation to secure and maintain a contract worth £15,000 per week.
Lidl sought to cancel the contract after making enquiries with ACS assessors revealing that Secure Serve was not ACS accredited. Campisi then commenced withdrawing funds from the business taking in excess of £145,000 in cash over five months.
The SIA made an application under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) to recover funds from Campisi, identifying monies received falsely from the Lidl contract. A POCA confiscation order was passed ordering Campisi to pay £80,000 within six months; failure to repay will lead to a custodial sentence of 18 months.
Additionally, Campisi was fined £1,000 for the offence and ordered to pay £1,000 towards prosecution costs. Recorder Ferris stated Campisi’s dishonest conduct demonstrated him “unfit to act as a company director” and passed a Director Disqualification Order lasting 10 years.
For assisting the commission of an offence, Bosher was fined £1,000 and ordered to contribute £10,000 towards prosecution costs. Recorder Ferris stated that Bosher “intended to assist the company in holding itself out as an approved contractor” through the production of “fake documents”.
Head of Investigation, Nathan Salmon, said: “This is a significant prosecution by the SIA which seeks to protect the integrity of the Approved Contractor Scheme. Parties who claim to be approved should not benefit when they cannot demonstrate meeting the high standards of the scheme.
“It was important that Mr Campisi was pursued under Proceeds of Crime legislation, to recover the benefit he gleaned from his actions. Both defendants have been dealt high penalties which reflect the seriousness which the Court placed upon their dishonest activities.
“These proceedings demonstrate that the SIA will robustly pursue individuals who breach the law and is a good example of all security stakeholders coming together to provide the evidence of the crime. In particular I would like to thank staff from the SSAIB, our assessing body, and Lidl who played an important role in identifying the offence and supporting the SIA investigation.”