Adam Spears [2019] EWCA Crim 3073

The appellant was convicted of two offences of obtaining personal data and two of dishonestly disclosing personal data. He was fined a total of £10,000 and appealed against that sentence.

The appellant was a retired police officer working as a private investigator. He was instructed to obtain personal financial information about the owner of a nightclub who had made an insurance claim after the club burned down.

Another defendant was asked to get the information by the appellant; he used a technique known as blagging to do this. Blagging involved calling a bank and deceiving them into thinking they were dealing with the account holder. The information was obtained, passed to the appellant who provided it to others and ultimately to the loss adjustors.

In sentencing, it was noted that the owner of the club would have provided the information if asked, and he had been compensated by way of civil proceedings. The financial gain to the appellant was small, and the offending occurred 11-12 years before a decision to prosecute was taken.

The appellant was said to have limited means and savings; the fine reflecting 4 months income. The appeal was refused. The Court found the judge was entitled to regard the offence as serious, and culpability as high. The appellant had a pension of just over £28,000 so was capable of paying the fine over 12 months. The appeal was dismissed.