This case involved an organised and sophisticated attack on the payment systems of the London Borough of Barnet and in particular the Housing Supply Team. This conspiracy was masterminded by Adnan Nazir, a London Borough of Barnet employee and his associate Nilton Pertussati Jnr. Jamile Pertussati. The wife of Nilton Pertussati Jnr, was also an active part of the conspiracy to defraud. Together, the defendants submitted fraudulent claims under the Rent Deposit Scheme amounting to almost £149,000 and received some £117,00 into a string of bank accounts opened in false names using counterfeit identity documents.
David Jugnarain was instructed by the London Borough of Barnet to prosecute Nilton Pertussati Jnr, who had ‘gone to ground’ following the earlier arrest of Adnan Nazir and his wife the previous year.
The defendant, Nilton Pertussati Junior, was an accomplished identity fraudster. In the course of committing these offences he used a counterfeit identity documents to open bank accounts in 15 different identities in order to receive the fraudulently obtained payments from the London Borough of Barnet. This was in addition to a number of bank accounts opened in false identities by Jamile Pertussati and Adnan Nazir for similar purposes.
Mr Jugnarain prosecuted Nilton Pertussati Jnr at Wood Green Crown Court, where he pleaded guilty to all charges and received a sentence of 21 months imprisonment. A confiscation order was also made under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
