Joseph Waite [2019] EWCA Crim 1208

The applicant was convicted of 7 counts of fraud by false representation and sentenced to 30 months’ imprisonment and was disqualified from acting as a company director for 5 years. He applied for an extension of time in which to renew his application for leave to appeal against conviction.

The applicant delivered 7 cheques to the Barclaycard totalling £80,000 each drawn on a company account he knew to be closed, Barclaycard credited the credit card accounts of the other company of which he was the director with the amount of each cheque. Each of the cheques was dishonoured as he knew it would be. He contended that he was not making a representation to Barclaycard but simply transferring monies from one of his companies to another.

The argument was rejected with the single judge saying it was a clear case of fraud abusing the bank’s willingness to permit drawing against uncleared effects.

The applicant sought to argue that in the course of POCA proceedings the prosecution confirmed he had been writing cheques from one company to another, something he suggested supported an assertion that his conviction was unsafe.

Held: “the points he seeks to make remain utterly misconceived and they have no impact upon the unassailable reasoning of the single judge when refusing leave. He is, in reality, simply re-cycling the same point which is one that he does not feel able to accept.” If the applicant was still in custody a loss of time direction would have been made, as he was not an order to pay the costs of the transcript was made.