Ex-MP faces 21 expenses charges

http://news.aol.co.uk/main-news/story/ex-mp-faces-21-expenses-charges/1917964

The former Labour MP who claimed for dry rot treatment on a home more than 100 miles from her constituency will be charged with fiddling her expenses by more than £60,000, prosecutors have said.

Margaret Moran, one of the last politicians investigated over the scandal, will appear before magistrates facing 21 charges relating to her parliamentary claims.

Moran, former MP for Luton South, will appear before City of Westminster Magistrates' Court on September 19, said the Crown Prosecution Service.

The Director of Public Prosecutions said there were no more parliamentary expenses fraud cases awaiting review.

Keir Starmer QC said "there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest" to bring criminal charges against Moran.

Moran, who has been suspended by her party, claimed more than £20,000 for the treatment of dry rot at her Southampton home.

The CPS announcement came after the case was held up when Moran said she was suffering ill health.

Criminal investigations into Moran centred on allegations that she repeatedly "flipped" her designated second home, making claims for properties in London, Luton and Southampton over a four-year period. Charges relate to 15 charges of false accounting, contrary to the Theft Act 1968.

"It is alleged that she claimed expenses for the furnishing and improvement of main residences between November 2004 and August 2008 through a scheme intended for the maintenance of second homes or offices," the DPP said.

Moran, who stood down at the last election, also faces six charges of forgery, where it is alleged that she submitted forged invoices. Of 10 files of evidence handed to prosecutors, seven cases have resulted in charges.

At last - I was rather hoping M/s Moran wouldn't get away with her "doubtful expenses".

It was reported in the Telegraph as well - she had been stalling by repeatedly claiming she was ill and the CPS got fed up with waiting and charged her.

What the result is will be interesting - a fine do you think ?

Didn"t an MP accused of Fraud go to Jail over his expenses ?

Panda wrote:Didn"t an MP accused of Fraud go to Jail over his expenses ?

eric illsley?

Badboy wrote:

Panda wrote:Didn"t an MP accused of Fraud go to Jail over his expenses ?

eric illsley?

Hi Badboy, I can"t remember his name, you are probably right. It"s disgraceful when these MP"s who don"t even attend Parliament every day, have long
holidays, subsidised meals, very good expenses etc resort to cheating ....pretending they didn"t think they were doing anything wrong. No wonder Britain is in the state it"s in .

This is the list I have found on the internet of corrupt Public Servants who have, to this time been sentenced through stealing from the public purse. + Links.

A former MP jailed for expenses fraud claimed the second highest amount of parliamentary allowances last year, records have revealed. Eric Illsley, the former Barnsley Central Labour MP, received £151,245 in 2010-11.
In January he admitted falsely claiming £14,500 of expenses between 2005 and 2008, and was jailed for 12 months, but was released in May. Illsley clung on to his parliamentary seat until nearly a month after pleading guilty.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/jul/21/mp-jailed-expenses-fraud-claims

David Chaytor, 61, who had been an MP in northern England, admitted at an earlier hearing to fraudulently claiming more than 20,000 pounds in taxpayer-funded expenses.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/01/07/uk-britain-politician-jail-idUKTRE7063O120110107

An expenses cheat MP who carried on regardless in the face of public anger has whinged from behind bars that he did not get a fair trial because of the internet. Jim Devine, who was jailed for 16 months after being branded a liar by his trial judge, moaned about whether jurors listened to the judge's warning not to research the case online.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011703/MPs-expenses-fraud-Jailed-Jim-Devine-whinges-didnt-fair-trial.html#ixzz1XMlrEqBO

A former Labour minister was jailed for 16 months on Friday for dishonestly claiming more than £30,000 in expenses, becoming the fourth MP to be imprisoned over the scandal. Elliot Morley, 58, former Scunthorpe MP and environment minister under Tony Blair, claimed the money for false and inflated mortgage payments
http://cachef.ft.com/cms/s/0/237a8c44-8309-11e0-85a4-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1XMnvUo8i

Former Tory peer Lord Taylor of Warwick has been jailed for 12 months for fiddling his expenses. The 58-year-old had argued the six claims he submitted - totalling £11,277.80 - were made in good faith. He showed no reaction today as he was sentenced, but the court heard he had been left facing almost certain financial ruin as a result of the trial as he lost consultancy work. He admitted breaking the expenses rules, but said he had done so because it was a common practice among peers to claim items "in lieu of a salary". During his trial, Lord Taylor claimed a property in Oxford was his main residence, when in fact he lived in Ealing, west London. The property in Oxford was, in fact, owned by his half-nephew and the peer had never stayed overnight there and only ever visited twice. However, between March 2006 and October 2007, Lord Taylor submitted six claims for overnight stays in Oxford and mileage to and from the property.
http://news.sky.com/home/mps-expenses-lord-taylor-former-tory-peer-jailed-for-12-months-for-fiddling-expenses/article/16002782

A House of Commons official was today jailed for nine months after siphoning off nearly £6,000 in fake MPs' expenses claims. Andrew Gibson, a 49-year-old budget officer in the parliamentary fees office, came up with a "planned and carefully executed fraud" to pay off gambling debts, Southwark crown court, in London, was told. Gibson admitted drawing up false invoices in the names of three former MPs following the 2005 general election and paying the cash into the bank account of his friend Toni Pomfret.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/sep/30/commons-official-jailed-fake-mps-expenses

How can we not have a corrupt Country when the MP"s have set such a low standard, even now, David Cameron has proved he is no better, using
Murdoch to become PM. There are some honest, hard-working MP"s but they have no voice when it comes to criticising Cabinet Ministers.