28 October 2003

Bankrupt forger jailed for nine months

A bankrupt who forged letters in an attempt to get his bankruptcy order annulled was sent to prison for nine months at Swansea Crown Court today for perverting the course of justice.

John Bowyer, 54, of Brairwood Gardens, Newton, Swansea, was made bankrupt on 13 July 2001 with debts of £105,630 following action by one of his creditors.

Mr Bowyer subsequently applied to the court for an annulment of the bankruptcy order, arguing that he was soon to receive a substantial amount of money from the sale of his matrimonial home and would therefore be able to pay the petitioning creditor's debt.

To support his application, Bowyer forged a letter, purporting to be from a firm of solicitors acting for a creditor bank, stating that they supported the application. He also forged a letter from a second firm of solicitors showing that the petitioning creditor's debt had been repaid in full.

The letter was supposedly faxed by the solicitors, but investigations showed that it had been faxed from a public library.

The bankruptcy order was annulled, but reinstated following an investigation by the Insolvency Service.

Following a criminal investigation by the DTI, Bowyer was charged with perverting the course of public justice and four counts of using forged instruments.

Mr Bowyer pleaded guilty to all charges at Swansea Crown Court on 7 October 2003.

Sentencing Bowyer, His Honour Judge Jenkins QC, said: "This is a serious and pre-meditated case of deceiving the Official Receiver and subsequently the courts. Perverting the course of public justice is so serious that the only option is imprisonment."

(gmcg)