A Nigerian, Dada Taofiki Olaniyan, has been convicted after allowing somebody else to work with his Security Industry Authority (SIA) licence.
Prompt News reports that the SIA is the organisation responsible for regulating the private security industry in the United Kingdom.
Olaniyan, who lives in London, was found guilty at Kingston Crown Court on 1 July 2024.
He was sentenced to 2 years in prison, suspended for 18 months and ordered to pay almost £6,000 costs.
Olaniyan was employed to work as a security guard at the Ronald McDonald Charity House in London.
But, when his employer conducted routine checks in January 2020, they found another man displaying a licence in his name.
The Ronald McDonald House Charities provide accommodation and support for families close to their child’s hospital ward.
The SIA launched an investigation and found that Olaniyan knew the man and continued to receive wages for shifts he had not worked.
He told SIA investigators that he had not worked at the charity’s establishments since 2019.
He also said that the man who was seen at the venue had been living at his ex-wife’s address. Investigators were unable to trace this man.
A confiscation hearing on 11 December 2024 found that he made £8,992 in criminal benefit. The SIA will now seize the full amount under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).
He was also ordered to pay £5,860 costs and a victim surcharge of £140.
Nicola Bolton, an SIA criminal investigations manager, said: “SIA licence holders are trained and vetted to hold positions of authority and trust.
“Olaniyan abused this position and used his licence fraudulently to allow an unknown, untrained and unlicensed individual to work protecting vulnerable families.
Olaniyan has lost his licence and now has a criminal record. This prosecution is a lesson to anyone who is thinking of committing fraud that crime does not pay.”
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