Fraud In A Club

Civil Recover: A summary Of The Key Measures

(Extracts from the Fraud Advisory Panel guidance)

Introduction

This factsheet sets out the actions that a club can consider to recover losses through civil (as opposed to criminal) measures.

Taking direct action against anyone who defrauds your club can serve as an effective deterrent to would-be fraudsters and can help to minimise the losses suffered.

Professional legal and accountancy advice should be sought to maximise the prospects of successful recovery actions.

Fraud is a criminal act.  Why should the club consider a civil course of action to recover fraud losses?

Clubs should always consider reporting instances of suspected fraud to law enforcement.  Careful consideration should be given to the timing of any such report as the involvement of a law enforcement agency can impact on your ability to recover your losses through the civil courts.

Clubs should note that only a minority of fraud and forgery reports made to the police receive active police attention.  This is because:

• Authorities may collate information received and may only take investigative action at a later date if a sufficient number of allegations or reports are also made by other victims.
• The fraud reported by your club may be a small part of a wider matter requiring coordinated assistance from other law enforcement agencies.
• Authorities may not have the available resources to respond at all or in a timely manner to the allegation of fraud made by your club.
• Law enforcement agencies focus on gaining a criminal conviction as a punishment and deterrent.  Gaining financial redress for your club is not a focus of law enforcement agencies.

In these situations, civil recovery may be the only way that your club can seek to recover fraud losses.

Why civil recovery?

Civil recovery proceedings can help to maximise the opportunities of restitution without relying on the final and often lengthy outcome of a criminal prosecution.  Conducted in the right way, some evidence obtained during the course of a civil investigation can be used in subsequent or parallel criminal investigations.

Further information:

www.fraudadvisorypanel.co.uk

www.actionfraud.co.uk