Central London BID Chief is a Convicted Fraudster
It has been discovered that Lee Lyons, Chief Operations Officer of The Fitzrovia Partnership Business Improvement District, in London Borough of Camden, pleaded GUILTY to cheating the benefit system.
He commited this fraud whilst employed by the BID in 2010, found guilty in Court in 2011, and the BID and council has turned a blind eye to this day!
Two articles can be found at the following links to confirm the detail (with artcile copies at bottom of this page):
https://www.heart.co.uk/hertfordshire/news/local/court-fines-benefit-cheat/
Lyon's public LinkedIn profile confirms that it was whilst he was employed by the BID company he committed the fraud - link to profile below: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lee-lyons-1b18962a/.
He took the BID Manager job in April 2010 knowing he was committing fraud, and was found out a few months later.
In November 2010 he was interviewed under caution by council officers - so a council knew he was commiting fraud whilst working for a BID because it was the council he was defrauding! He claimed housing and council tax benefit on the basis that he was unemployed - but was employed as the BID Manager.
Yet he continued to work for the BID and members / levy payers were not informed.
Given his conviction was in the press, the council knew and it's likely he had a contractual resposibility to inform his employer, it's inconceivable the BID Board can't have known he was a convicted fraudster.
The BID even promoted him to Chief Operations Officer knowing that this man's integrity had been thrown into question following a conviction for fraud.
This man is likely to have had some financial control / influence of BID levy funds. Yet London Borough of Camden clearly couldn't care less that he was involved in the receipt of £m's of BID member money that the council was passing over to the BID.
Surely the BID's members have had a right to know this information when making decisions as to vote in a BID renewal ballot.
How many other BID's in the UK have benefit cheats and fraudsters working for them, with BID Birectors and Councils turning a blind eye?
Private Limited Companies receiving £mn's of public funding with no accountability to anyone is down right wrong.
Reform of the BID industry is long overdue - Local authorities who are acting as BID debt collectors need to do more due diligence and this example should be reviewed by Central Government.
Credit: An anonymous informer.
Benefit cheat from Watford fined and ordered to repay money
5th May 2011. By Chris Hewett
A benefit cheat from Watford who illegally claimed more than £4,000 was fined and ordered to pay the money back.
Lee Lyons, of Osprey Close, pleaded guilty at Watford Magistrates' Court to failing to provide prompt notification when he started full-time work, in April 2010.
The court heard how the 30-year-old failed to inform Hertsmere Borough Council of his new job and, despite no longer claiming jobseeker's allowance, continued to receive housing and council tax benefit.
His Watford address fell under the jurisdiction of Hertsmere Borough Council, which carried out the investigation.
Lyons' failure to inform the authority meant he illegally received fortnightly benefit payments of £260, which totalled £4,277 by November 2010.
Appearing in court on April 28, he was fined £500, ordered to pay back the money and charged a further £400 for the prosecution's legal costs.
Court Fines Benefit Cheat
https://www.heart.co.uk/hertfordshire/news/local/court-fines-benefit-cheat/
5 May 2011, 16:48 | Updated: 5 May 2011, 16:51
A man who was paid more than £4,000 in benefits he was not entitled to was fined at court on Thursday (28 April).
Hertsmere Borough Council brought a prosecution against Lee Lyons, aged 30, of 27 Osprey Close, Falcon Way, Watford, an address within the borough’s jurisdiction.
Lyons appeared at Watford Magistrates Court which heard that he had claimed housing and council tax benefit on the basis that he was unemployed and claiming jobseekers allowance. As a result he was awarded fortnightly housing benefit payments of £260.76.
However an investigation by the council found that he had stopped receiving jobseekers allowance in April 2010 but had not told the council about his change of circumstances.
In November 2010 Lyons was interviewed under caution by council officers and acknowledged that his claim for jobseekers allowance had ceased when he had started full-time work in April 2010. This change in circumstances resulted in Lyons being overpaid benefits totalling £4,277.74.
Lyons pleaded guilty to an offence under the Social Security Administration Act 1992 of failing to provide prompt notification when his circumstances changed. The court fined him £500 and further ordered that he pay £400 towards the council’s prosecution costs. Lyons will also have to repay the full amount that he was overpaid.