Warrant issued for fraudster after he fails to attend trial

Nazir Daud was found guilty after a trial in his absence

A judge has issued a warrant for the arrest of a man found guilty of fraud after he failed to appear in court.

Leicestershire County Council said Nazir Abdul Rashid Daud had pleaded not guilty to fraud but failed to attend his trial.

The 58-year-old, formerly of Landseer Road, Leicester, was found guilty of four counts after the trial in his absence at Leicester Crown Court.

Another man who admitted fraud was handed a suspended sentence.

Anthony Raybould, 65 and of Alumhurst Road in Bournemouth, admitted fraud by false representation under the Fraud Act 2006 and fraudulent trading under the Companies Act 2006, and was given a 22-month sentence suspended for two years.

Daud was convicted of three counts under the Fraud Act 2006 in relation to false representations made between 2015 and 2018, and a further charge of fraudulent trading under the Companies Act 2006.

A trial took place at Leicester Crown Court

The council said the pair were prosecuted after its trading standards department received details from 18 people across the UK affected by the fraud.

A trial heard Daud was the sole director of Payrolls Direct Limited, through which he advertised franchise licences for a cloud-based payroll system.

Franchisees, the council said, would sign up clients, process payroll for each employee of the company they signed up, and Payrolls Direct would take 20% of the fee, with the franchisee keeping the rest.

Daud claimed buying a franchisee licence would allow people to earn up to £2,000 a month.

But only one of 18 franchisees who contacted the council was able to sign clients, with promised help and training not provided, leaving them unable to use the system.

'Franchise fraudsters'

Co-defendant Raybould was the first franchise licence holder but began working for Payrolls Direct, with the council saying he made false representations to victims about his earnings.

The council said Daud was thought to have earned more than £300,000 in franchise licence fees, with Raybould taking more than £10,000 in "commission" payments.

An order was made under the Proceeds of Crime Act to recover funds.

Gary Connors, head of the council's trading standards service, warned the public about the dangers of the "unregulated" franchise market.

"We expect the cost-of-living crisis will provide greater openings for franchise fraudsters as people look for more openings to bring in much-needed income," he said.

"I would advise those seeking a new business opportunity to treat every success or income claim as totally unsubstantiated; if the seller cannot produce meaningful audited financial accounts of that success, move on."

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