England: fake McKenzie friend jailed for three years

Martin Williamson, from Biggleswade, admitted duping 15 would-be clients into paying an upfront fee to have him work on their cases.

All of the cases - for which Mr Williamson received a total of £5,104 - involved issues surrounding children in family court hearings.

Mr Williamson’s victims believed he would deliver legal services including applying for court orders, arranging court dates, contacting legal firms, and liaising with social services and the Child Support Agency.

Judge Stuart Bridge at Luton Crown Court heard that Mr Williamson did none of these things, but produced false documents and told lies to convince them that he was a legitimate legal professional.

Among his actions were producing a fake court order which he told his victim would prevent a relative taking the child out of school; faking a CRB check after a victim paid for a relative’s background to be investigated; creating a fake child psychologist in order to extort payments from another victim; and falsifying court dates, meaning that his victims arrived at court for hearings that did not exist.

He was brought to court facing 22 separate charges following an investigation by Central Bedfordshire Council, with assistance from Scambusters.

Sentencing, Judge Stuart Bridge said: “Your actions were callous and premeditated. You attracted people who were unable to obtain legal support due to cuts in legal aid. You deliberately sought these people out. Once you had been paid you broke their trust.

“You abused a position of trust. The offences were sophisticated and carefully planned. You prepared and falsified documents.

“The loss of over £5,000 was relatively low, but the high victim impact elevates this to a higher sentencing bracket. There is no doubt in my mind that the McKenzie Friend offences are so serious that an immediate custodial sentence must be imposed.”

After pleading guilty to 15 charges of fraud by false representation, Mr Williamson was sentenced to three years in prison.